Colorado’s minimum wage goes up again on Jan. 1. The state labor department has announced its 2027 figure, Denver and the City of Boulder have theirs, and two smaller jurisdictions still have loose ends. Here is where each rate stands as of Oct. 11, 2026, with the official source for each one.
The 2027 rates at a glance
- Colorado, anywhere without a local wage: $15.71 an hour, $12.69 for tipped workers (now $15.16 and $12.14)
- Denver: $19.84, $16.82 with the tip credit (now $19.29 and $16.27)
- City of Boulder: $18.17, $15.15 with the tip credit (now $16.82 and $13.80)
- Unincorporated Boulder County: not yet set (now $16.82 and $13.80)
- Edgewater: $19.84 on the state’s table, $19.99 on the city’s own page; tipped rate not yet set (now $18.17 and $13.50)
The statewide rate: $15.71 an hour
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment announced on Aug. 13 that the state minimum wage will rise to $15.71 an hour in 2027, from $15.16 this year. The minimum for tipped workers goes to $12.69, from $12.14. The department calls it a 3.6% increase. That is 55 cents an hour, which by our arithmetic comes to $1,144 over a 2,080-hour work year.
The raise happens automatically each year. The state constitution requires the minimum wage to be adjusted for inflation annually, and the department uses the federal Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers to do it. One procedural step remains. The dollar figure is written into the department’s annual PAY CALC Order, and its rulemaking page shows the 2027 order was proposed on Sept. 30, with a public hearing listed for Nov. 2 and an effective date of Jan. 1, 2027.
Denver: $19.84
Denver sets its own, higher wage, and it is $19.29 this year. The state’s announcement says Denver’s 2027 minimum will be $19.84, and the state’s table of annual minimum wages lists $16.82 for Denver workers paid with the tip credit. When we checked on Oct. 11, the minimum wage pages of Denver Labor, the wage enforcement arm of the Denver Auditor’s Office, still showed the 2026 figures.
Denver Labor says the citywide wage adjusts every Jan. 1, using a different inflation measure than the state: the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers. The wage covers all employees working within the city limits, and in the food and beverage industry employers may claim a tip credit of up to $3.02 an hour against it.
Boulder: $18.17
The City of Boulder has a bigger step up than the state or Denver. An ordinance moves its wage from $16.82 to $18.17 on Jan. 1, 2027, an increase of $1.35 an hour. From 2028 on, the city’s wage rises each year with the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Consumer Price Index. Food and beverage employers in Boulder can count up to $3.02 an hour in tips toward the wage, which is why the state’s table lists $15.15 for tipped workers.
Two places with loose ends
Unincorporated Boulder County. The county’s wage is $16.82 this year. Starting in 2027 it rises with the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Consumer Price Index, but no 2027 figure has been announced. The county’s page shows $17.32, labeled as an estimate that assumes 3% inflation, and the state’s table lists the 2027 rate as “TBD.” This wage applies only outside city limits, to people who work four or more hours a week in unincorporated Boulder County. The county notes that a “Boulder” or “Longmont” mailing address can still be unincorporated.
Edgewater. The wage in this small city next to Denver is $18.17 this year. Edgewater’s own page still shows a council-approved schedule with $19.99 for 2027 and says the intention is to end up equal to Denver’s wage. The state’s table lists Edgewater’s 2027 wage as $19.84, the same as Denver’s. Both pages show the 2027 tipped wage as not yet set. If you work or run a business in Edgewater, confirm the number with the city before January.
Which rate applies to you
- It depends on where you do the work. The state lists only four local minimum wages: Denver, Edgewater, the City of Boulder and unincorporated Boulder County. Everywhere else, including Wheat Ridge, Littleton, Lakewood, Arvada, Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley, the state rate is the floor.
- The higher number wins. State wage rules say that when more than one law applies, the one providing the higher wage controls.
- Tips have to close the gap. If a tipped worker’s pay plus tips falls short of the full minimum wage, state guidance says the employer must make up the difference.
- Cities cannot raise wages without limit. The 2019 state law that lets local governments set their own minimum wage caps yearly increases at $1.75 or 15%, whichever is higher.
If you are paid less than the minimum
The state’s Division of Labor Standards and Statistics takes wage complaints through an online or printable form, and answers questions at 303-318-8441 or cdle_labor_standards@state.co.us. State rules give workers two years from a violation to file, or three if the violation was willful. In Denver, Denver Labor takes complaints at wagecomplaints@denvergov.org or 720-913-WAGE (9243). Denver says complaints can be anonymous but must be submitted in writing.
Sources
- Colorado Department of Labor and Employment: 2027 minimum wage announcement (Aug. 13, 2026), annual minimum wages table and proposed and adopted labor rules
- Denver Auditor’s Office, Denver Labor: citywide minimum wage
- City of Boulder: local minimum wage
- Boulder County: local minimum wage for unincorporated areas
- City of Edgewater: minimum wage
- Colorado General Assembly: House Bill 19-1210
This is general information, not legal advice.
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