# Colorado tipped minimum wage 2026

In Colorado the minimum wage is $15.16 an hour, and an employer can pay a tipped employee a cash wage as low as $12.14, counting up to $3.02 an hour of tips toward the rest. If tips fall short in a workweek, the employer pays the difference.

Check your own week with the free [calculator on this page](https://rulecost.com/paycheck/tipped-minimum-wage/colorado/), prefilled with Colorado's rates.

- Minimum wage: $15.16 / hour
- Lowest cash wage for tipped employees: $12.14 / hour
- Maximum tip credit: $3.02 / hour
- Tipped employee: more than $30 a month in tips

Denver and some other localities set a higher local minimum wage and tipped wage.

## 2027

On January 1, 2027, Colorado's minimum wage rises to $15.71 an hour, and the tipped cash wage to $12.69 (a tip credit of up to $3.02). Source: https://news.bloombergtax.com/payroll/colorado-statewide-minimum-wage-rising-to-15-71-for-2027

## Not paid the minimum wage?

The U.S. Department of Labor lists the [Colorado Department of Labor and Employment](https://cdle.colorado.gov/dlss) as Colorado's labor office. Federal complaints: Wage and Hour Division, 1-866-487-9243.

## Sources

- [Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped), U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
- [State Minimum Wage Laws](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state), U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
- [Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the FLSA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/15-tipped-employees-flsa), U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division