City minimum wage · 2026
Denver, Colorado minimum wage
The general minimum wage in Denver, Colorado is $18.81 per hour, effective January 1, 2025. This is the rate for standard (non-tipped, non-exempt) employees.
- Rate (general)
- $18.81/hr
- Effective
- 2025-01-01
- Status
- validated
- Source confidence
- 95%
Snapshot from the PeopleAnalyst wage-compliance layer, retrieved 2026-06-28. Rates change — see the maintained feed below for live updates.
What this number doesn't cover
One headline rate answers one question. Paying people legally — and being able to prove you did — needs more than a number you typed into a spreadsheet last quarter:
- ·Variants: tipped, youth/training, and small-employer rates often differ from the headline — and they change on their own schedules.
- ·Local ordinances: Colorado has city/county rates above the state floor — the metro you forgot you employ someone in.
- ·Scheduled increases:next year's rate is often already law. Knowing the future-dated step lets you budget and avoid a surprise.
- ·Citations:when an auditor or an employee asks, “a website said so” isn't an answer. Each rule carries its source and effective date.
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