Denver minimum wage 2026: $19.29 an hour

$19.29 an hour, in force since January 1, 2026, set by annual CPI indexing under Denver's 2019 local minimum wage ordinance. That is $4.13 an hour above the Colorado state minimum of $15.16 and $12.04 above the federal $7.25, which has not moved since July 24, 2009. Over a full-time year the gap over the state rate is worth $8,590 in gross pay.

At $19.29 and 40 hours a week, gross pay is $772 a week, $3,344 a month and $40,123 a year. A single filer with no other deductions takes home about $638 a week, $1,276 every two weeks, $2,765 a month or $33,185 a year, an effective rate of 17.3% across federal income tax, Colorado income tax, Social Security and Medicare.

Whichever is higher, and for work performed in Denver that is the Denver rate of $19.29. A local wage floor can rise above the state and federal figures but never fall below them, so the three rates are a floor stack rather than alternatives. What decides it is where the work is physically done, not where your employer is headquartered or where you live.

$16.27 an hour in direct cash wages, with tips making up the remaining $3.02 to reach the $19.29 minimum. If tips plus the cash wage fall short over the hours worked, the employer has to pay the difference — the obligation always runs to the full minimum. Tips are taxable wages reported through payroll, and for 2026 up to $25,000 of qualified tips is deductible on your federal return.

Before. $19.29 is a floor on gross pay, the figure your employer must pay for each hour worked with nothing withheld yet. Social Security takes 6.2% and Medicare 1.45% from the first dollar, and Colorado income tax applies on top. On a full 40-hour week that turns $772 gross into about $638 net, a difference of $133.

Check the stub first: multiply hours worked by $19.29 and compare against gross pay for the period, before deductions, because the test is gross. Underpayment is a wage claim, and a local ordinance usually gives you a city enforcement office as well as the state labor office and the U.S. Department of Labor. Deductions for uniforms, tools or till shortages that push effective pay below the floor are generally not permitted.