Colorado’s minimum wage will increase by 39 cents by 2025, according to the Colorado Division of Labor Standards and Statistics.
The minimum wage in Colorado will increase from $14.42 to $14.81, which represents a 2.7% increase.
Meanwhile, the tipped minimum wage will increase from $11.40 to $11.79 because the tipped minimum wage can be $3.02 lower than the standard minimum, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Employers must meet certain conditions in order to pay tips below the minimum wage. Tips must increase total wages to the full minimum and average at least $1.64 per hour, and employers may not take away employee tips for invalid tip pools, credit card fees, etc., or impose mandatory fees, such as a 20% service charge, which not “tips,” according to CDLE.
Individual municipalities in Colorado can also create their own minimum wages, as long as they are higher than the state minimum.
The City and County of Denver will increase the minimum wage by 49 cents, to $18.81 from the previous minimum of $18.29. Edgewater will increase its minimum wage by a dollar and a half from $15.02 to $16.52. Unincorporated areas in Boulder County will see an increase of 88 cents, from $15.69 to $16.57, although the city of Boulder will remain at $15.57.
However, the city of Pueblo is adhering to the state minimum, said Haley Robinson, spokesperson for the city.
“The city of Pueblo is at the state minimum and we do not have a separate municipality, so we will see an increase from $14.42 in 2024 to $14.81 in 2025,” Robinson said.
According to Rentcafe.com, the overall cost of living in Pueblo is 9% lower than the Colorado average and 4% lower than the national average. Meanwhile, the cost of living in neighboring Colorado Springs is 1% higher than the state average, and 7% higher than the national average; Denver is 4% higher than the state average and 10% higher than the national average.
History of Colorado’s Minimum Wage
Colorado adhered to the federal minimum wage until voters approved an amendment to the state constitution in 2006 that increased the minimum wage and required it to be adjusted annually for inflation, based on the consumer price index, according to the Colorado General Assembly. The minimum wage in 2006 was $5.15 per hour, adjusted to $6.85 in 2007 as a result of legislation.
The CPI is a common measure of changes in the prices of goods and services, such as food, housing, gasoline and medical care.
In 2016, voters also supported a measure to increase the minimum wage from $8.31 to $9.30 per hour, beginning January 1, 2017, and then increase annually by $0.90 per hour until it reached $12.00 per hour on January 1, 2020. From then on, annual CPI increases will still apply.
Nationwide, the federal minimum wage rose from $6.55 to $7.25 in 2009 and has remained at $7.25 since. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Colorado is currently one of 34 states with a minimum wage higher than the national minimum.
Coloradoan reporter Rebecca Powell contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: This is what Colorado’s minimum wage will be in 2025
