Minimum Wage in Colorado – weekly, monthly, annually

In Colorado, the minimum hourly wage is $12.56. That is $5.31 more than the Federal Minimum Wage, which is only $7.25 per hour.

In Colorado, just about all employees are entitled to this hourly minimum wage, but there are exceptional situations where exempt workers receive less pay. The limited exceptions include some student workers, tipped employees, and a few other exempt situations and occupations (more below).

There are also employees for who a higher minimum pay counts. Direct care workers in public facilities, for example, working in community-based or in-home settings, receive at least a minimum hourly wage of $15, a good initiative so they can meet their daily needs.

For tipped workers counts that the employers may not offset the minimum wage by more than $3.02 per hour in the tipped income of the employees. So the tipped minimum wage is $9.54 an hour.

However, if the tipped employee does not reach a combined wage (so including tips) of the state’s minimum rate, the employer is obligated to compensate for the difference.

Colorado’s minimum wage applies to all adults as well as emancipated minors. Minors younger than 18 years of age may receive compensation of 15% less than the Colorado minimum wage (so $10,67).

Denver has established its own minimum hourly wage rate. Here, employees will receive at least $15.87, and the tipped minimum rate is set at $12.85. The Denver minimum wage rate will increase to $17.29 an hour in January 2023.

Colorado Paycheck Calculator

Our Paycheck Calculator lets you calculate your weekly, monthly, or annual earnings.

How to use this Colorado paycheck calculator

1. First, enter how much you make per hour.
2. Second, enter the number of hours that you work per week.
3. Our paycheck calculator shows you how that translates to weekly, monthly, or annual income.

How our Colorado paycheck calculator works

For most people, understanding their earnings is quite uncomplicated. Every week, two weeks, or month, they receive their paychecks, and by the end of the year, they receive their tax forms.

For people in this sort of situation, the process is usually straightforward. For people that work by the hour, however, things could get a bit more complicated. If you’d like to see how your hourly pay translates to earnings by the week, month, or year, this paycheck calculator is a great tool.

These results are generated by multiplying the base hourly salary by the number of hours, weeks, or months you work on a yearly basis, assuming that you’re working 40 hours per week.

Minimum Wage in Colorado

So, the Colorado minimum wage is $12.56 per hour. This wage level translates to $100,48 per day, $502.40 per week (if you work 40 work hours), $2177 per month, and $26,125 per year.

The FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) and also Colorado labor law requires all Colorado employers to display a state-approved minimum wage poster in a prominent and highly visible location to make sure that all workers are aware of their rights and state and federal labor laws, as well as overtime regulations. The state of Colorado has a flat individual income tax rate of 4.55 percent.

Exemptions in Colorado

Some employees in Colorado are exempt from receiving the state’s minimum wage. You may receive less than the Colorado minimum pay if you find yourself in one of these categories:

• Colorado workers under 20 can receive $4.25 an hour. Federal labor law allows Colorado employers to pay new employees younger than 20 a training wage of just $4.25 an hour, but only during the first 90 days on the job.
• Colorado full-time students may receive compensation of 85% of Colorado’s minimum wage (so only $10.68) if they are full-time college or high school students that work part-time (maximally 20 hours per week) at, for example, a work-study program at a college or university.
• For tipped workers counts that in Colorado, employees earning at least a certain amount in tips every month can get compensated less than the state minimum wage (but at least $9.54) as long as their combined earnings are at least $12.56 per hour (including tips).

Colorado overtime wage

All Colorado employees who put in more than 40 hours of work in a week are entitled to overtime pay at a rate of at least 1.5 times the regular minimum wage (so at least $18.84 per overwork hour). Colorado law also specifies a daily overtime limit. The daily cutoff for overtime in Colorado is 12 hours per day, and the weekly cutoff for overtime is 40 hours per week.

The Fair Labor Standards Act guarantees that all Colorado employees receive adequate compensation for qualifying overtime work hours. If an employer doesn’t pay overtime wages correctly, an unpaid overtime claim can be filed with Colorado’s Department of Labor.

What is work time?

In general, working hours are those hours employees must be on duty, be on an employer’s premises, or must be present at some other designated place of work. The additional time that employees are asked or allowed to perform activities related to their work is also regarded as work time.

Often, employees are a bit confused about which activities are regarded as “work” (so an activity they get paid for), in contrast to activities for which employers have no obligations to compensate their employees.

The general rule is that employees must be compensated for all time spent on assignments or activities that benefit the employer and/or are controlled by the employer. This includes all the time spent on carrying out job-related activities that benefit the employer.

Short breaks (up to 15-20 minutes) are generally considered “work time,” but longer breaks used for non-work-related activities are not. Time spent on education and training or attending a lecture or conference related to the job is considered work time. Time spent on daily commuting is not considered work time.

Please note that this post doesn’t contain legal advice. If you have any questions about Colorado’s minimum wage policies or minimum wage compliance, consult a tax professional or a tax attorney.