Boulder City Council has approved an increase minimum wage. Starting Jan. 1, 2025, the new minimum wage in the city of Boulder is going up to $15.57/hr.
Frequently Asked Questions
The increase is a result of Boulder City Council’s adoption of Ordinance 8664 that passed on Nov. 7 to be competitive and responsive to community needs.
The local minimum wage in the City of Boulder comes into effect Jan. 1, 2025.
The City of Boulder Minimum Wage schedule:
- Beginning January 1, 2025: $15.57 per hour;
- Beginning January 1, 2026: $16.82 per hour;
- Beginning January 1, 2027: $18.17 per hour;
Beginning January 1, 2028, and on January 1 of each subsequent calendar year, the City of Boulder Minimum Wage shall increase by an amount corresponding to the prior year increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) (Denver-Aurora-Lakewood).
Tips regularly and actually received by a food and beverage worker may be applied to an employer’s obligation to pay the food and beverage worker the local minimum wage (i.e. tip offset). However, no more than $3.02 per hour in tip income, or tip credit, may be used to partially offset payment of this wage.
Yes, the local minimum wage applies to minors (people under 18 years of age)?
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) is fully authorized to investigate and issue orders to remedy violations of labor laws, including an employer’s failure to pay wages. Guidance on demand for payment of wages and making a complaint against an employer can be found on the CDLE website.
Employer Responsibilities
Employers must post notice with letters no less than one inch high of the currently effective City of Boulder Minimum Wage in a prominent place that is easily accessible to all employees. Employers must display the posting in English and Spanish. If the display of a physical notice is not feasible, including the situation when an employee does not have a regular workplace or job site, employers must provide the required information on an individual basis, in an employee’s primary language, in paper or electronic form that is reasonably conspicuous and accessible. Notice shall include how to contact the Colorado Department of Labor and employment to file a complaint.
Employers must make, retain, and make available to the city or to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, upon request, payroll records adequate to determine compliance with this chapter for a minimum of three years for each record.