Wage guide

Colorado minimum wage 2026: $15.16 an hour and the paycheck it pays

The minimum wage in Colorado is $15.16 an hour, in force since January 1, 2026. Full time that is $606 a week gross and about $513 after tax, or $26,699 a year net.

The Colorado rate in context

Colorado minimum wage: $15.16 an hour, set by a constitutional amendment with annual inflation indexing
In force since: January 1, 2026
Next scheduled change: None currently scheduled
Tipped cash wage: $12.14, with a tip credit of up to $3.02
Federal minimum: $7.25, unchanged since July 24, 2009
Above the federal floor by: $7.91 an hour, $16,453 a year full time
Rank: 10th of the 50 states and DC
State income tax: Flat 4.4%
Overtime: 1.5x past 40 hours a week under the federal FLSA
Youth / training wage: $4.25 for the first 90 days for workers under 20, the federal rule

The tip credit is capped at $3.02 an hour. Denver, Boulder County and Edgewater set higher local rates.

A minimum-wage paycheck after taxes

$15.16 an hour, single filer, 2026 federal and Colorado rates, no benefits deducted.

Hours/week	Weekly gross	Weekly net	Biweekly net	Annual net
20	$303	$279	$557	$14,491
30	$455	$397	$794	$20,649
40	$606	$513	$1,027	$26,699

Full time at $15.16 is $31,533 gross a year, about $2,225 a month net and $26,699 a year net — an effective tax rate of 15.3%. Change the hours or add overtime in the Colorado hourly paycheck calculator.

Minimum wage in Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora and other Colorado cities

$15.16 is the floor for most of Colorado. A higher rate applies in Denver, Boulder County and Edgewater, and where one does it is the rate that governs — a wage floor can be raised above the state figure but never lowered below it. Everywhere else, $15.16 is what your employer must pay. Cities with their own rate below link straight to it; the rest link to the full paycheck math for that city.

City	Wage floor	Tipped cash wage	Full-time gross a month
Denver	$19.29	$16.27	$3,344
Colorado Springs	$15.16	$12.14	$2,628
Aurora	$15.16	$12.14	$2,628
Fort Collins	$15.16	$12.14	$2,628
Lakewood	$15.16	$12.14	$2,628
Thornton	$15.16	$12.14	$2,628
Arvada	$15.16	$12.14	$2,628
Westminster	$15.16	$12.14	$2,628

Minimum wage is a gross figure, not take-home pay

$15.16 is what your employer owes you per hour before anything is withheld. Social Security takes 6.2% and Medicare 1.45% from the first dollar, with no threshold. Federal income tax starts only once annual pay clears the standard deduction, which is why a minimum-wage check loses proportionally less to income tax than a larger one, and Colorado adds its own state tax on top. The result is an effective rate of 15.3% on a full-time minimum-wage year — well below the headline bracket.

Who the Colorado minimum wage covers

It applies to employees covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which in practice is nearly everyone paid hourly. A federal training wage of $4.25 an hour applies for the first 90 consecutive days to workers under 20. Salaried employees who meet the FLSA duties tests and the salary threshold are exempt from hourly minimums, and independent contractors sit outside minimum wage law entirely — which is why worker classification decides so much of what you are actually owed. See salary vs hourly pay for where that line falls.

How the Colorado rate gets set

The current figure comes from a constitutional amendment with annual inflation indexing. States that move their minimum regularly either legislate a schedule of steps or index the rate to a price index and adjust it each year, usually on January 1. States that do neither drift back towards the federal $7.25 in real terms, because that number has not changed since July 24, 2009.

If you are paid below the minimum

Check gross pay against hours worked on the stub — see how to read a pay stub — and remember that the test is gross, before deductions. Unpaid minimum wage is a wage claim, which can go to the Colorado labor office under state law or to the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division under the FLSA. Deductions for uniforms, tools or cash-drawer shortages that drop effective pay below the floor are generally not permitted.

Keep going with Colorado pay

Colorado paycheck calculator

Salary or hourly take-home pay with full state and federal withholding.

Colorado hourly paycheck calculator

Any rate, any hours, overtime at 1.5x.

Minimum wage after taxes

Every state's minimum wage and what it leaves after tax, in one table.

Tips tax calculator

How much of your tips escape federal tax under the 2025 deduction.

Overtime paycheck calculator

Time and a half after taxes, plus the federal overtime deduction.

How much tax is taken out

Every tax on a US pay stub, with 2026 numbers.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum wage in Colorado in 2026?+

$15.16 an hour, in force since January 1, 2026. That is $7.91 above the federal floor of $7.25, which has not moved since July 24, 2009, and makes Colorado the 10th-highest of the 50 states and DC. The rate is set by a constitutional amendment with annual inflation indexing.

How much is a full-time minimum wage paycheck in Colorado after taxes?+

At $15.16 and 40 hours a week, gross pay is $606 a week, $2,628 a month and $31,533 a year. A single filer with no other deductions takes home about $513 a week, $1,027 every two weeks, $2,225 a month or $26,699 a year. Social Security takes $1,955 a year and Medicare $457. Colorado income tax takes $679, so the overall rate is 15.3%.

Is the minimum wage before or after tax?+

Before. A minimum wage is a floor on gross pay — the figure your employer must pay for each hour worked, calculated before any withholding. Payroll taxes come out afterwards, so what lands in your account is always less than $15.16 an hour. In Colorado the gap on a full 40-hour week is $93, taking $606 gross down to about $513 net.

What is the tipped minimum wage in Colorado?+

$12.14 an hour in direct cash wages, with tips making up the rest of the $15.16 minimum. The tip credit an employer may claim is $3.02 an hour. If tips plus the cash wage do not reach $15.16 for the hours worked, the employer has to pay the difference. A tipped employee under federal law is someone who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. Tips are taxable wages reported through payroll, and for 2026 up to $25,000 of qualified tips is deductible on your federal return.

Do cities in Colorado have their own minimum wage?+

Where a city, county or region carries a higher rate, that rate governs for work done there. A wage floor can be raised above the state figure but never lowered below it. In Colorado that applies in Denver at $19.29, against the statewide $15.16. Everywhere else in the state, $15.16 is the figure your employer must pay. Whatever the wage floor, the payroll tax on it works the same way everywhere in Colorado.

How does Colorado compare with other states?+

$15.16 makes Colorado the 10th-highest of the 50 states and DC. 31 of the 50 states and DC pay above the federal $7.25; the other 20 sit exactly on it. The District of Columbia is highest at $18.40, then Washington at $17.13.

What should I do if I am paid less than the Colorado minimum wage?+

Start with your pay stub: multiply the hours worked by $15.16 and compare it with gross pay for the period, before deductions. Unpaid minimum wage is a wage claim, filed with the Colorado labor office under state law or with the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which carries its own filing window. Deductions that push effective pay below the minimum — uniforms, tools, till shortages — are generally not allowed. Employers must display the federal minimum wage poster in the workplace.