Denver sets new minimum wage for 2025, with a 52-cent increase

Denver employers will have to pay their hourly workers 52 cents more next year after the city’s minimum wage rises to $18.81 per hour on Jan. 1.

For tipped workers, the minimum wage will be set at $15.79 per hour if those workers make at least $3.02 in tips per hour.

City officials announced the forthcoming new rates in a news release Thursday. Until Jan. 1, employers are required to pay non-tipped workers this year’s rate of at least $18.29 per hour.

The 52-cent increase — 2.84% — is the smallest increase since at least 2021, according to data available through Denver Labor, the division of the Denver Auditor’s Office that enforces city wage laws.

This year’s rate is a dollar more than the $17.29 minimum the city required employers to pay in 2023. In 2022, the city minimum wage was $15.87, up from $14.77 in 2021. In 2020, the rate was $12.85.

The Denver City Council tied the city minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index in 2019. That index is a measure of the average price consumers pay for a range of basic goods. The city’s smaller increase this year is an indication that the cost of goods is moderating after years of high inflation.

Mayor Mike Johnston celebrated the gentler bump in a statement Wednesday.

“This raise puts money in the pockets of hard-working Denverites and makes us an even more attractive job market for employers and employees alike,” he said.