Denver’s minimum wage will increase to $17.29 per hour starting Jan. 1, according to a news release from the city.

Minimum wage for tipped food and beverage workers will increase to $14.27 per hour if they earn at least $3.02 in tips per hour.

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Denver is among dozens of cities that are raising their minimum wage to over $17 an hour. In November 2019, Denver City Council approved an ordinance outlining minimum wage increases for three years. 

“At a time when inflation and rising costs are impacting working families everywhere, this increase in our minimum wage, which is based on the Consumer Price Index, will help those who need it most,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement. “We know this will put additional burdens on our local businesses, but this is an important tool to support vulnerable workers across the city.”

In a statement, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce decried the latest increase to the city’s minimum wage.

“Mandatory minimum wages tied to formulas like CPI will cause businesses to increase prices to meet new wage demands. Increased prices will simply continue to fuel inflation. At its worst, increased prices lead to a general increase in cost of living that might be so high as to negate any advantage gained by workers having slightly higher wages,” chamber officials said.

They added that “some businesses struggling with costs may not be able to meet these new wage demands and will be forced to lay people off, increasing unemployment. When inflation exceeds wage growth, as it’s doing now … workers and all of us are worse off.”

Denver’s minimum wage ordinance took effect on Jan. 1, 2020, and is structured the same as Colorado’s minimum wage increases. After the final increase outlined in the ordinance is done on Jan. 1, 2023, annual minimum wage increases will be based on the Consumer Price Index to ensure wages keep up with the city’s increasing cost of living. 

Denver’s Department of Finance found that the Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area was 8.94%, which is how much the minimum wage will increase — from $15.87 to $17.29 per hour for 2023. If a local jurisdiction has its own minimum wage, any increases must take effect on Jan. 1 so it’s consistent for employers, according to state law. 

“CPI increases are used in the vast majority of state and local minimum wages across the country,” Denver City Council member Robin Kniech said in a news release. “They are designed to do just what this increase will for Denver workers: help them keep up with the cost of living rather than falling behind as prices increase.”

Denver’s minimum wage is enforced by the Denver Labor Division of the auditor’s office. The auditor’s office will work with City Council and the mayor to spread the word and educate the business community about the minimum wage increase before it takes effect.

Denver Auditor Tim O’Brien encouraged business owners on the edge of the city limits to use the regional address finder on the auditor’s office website to determine if work was done within the city’s boundaries. 

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