$25 Minimum Wage
A real living wage for a real city. $25/hr is what a family of four needs to survive in Denver - and it's still not enough for single parents.
- Drafted
- Organizing
- Introduced
- Committee
- Enacted
The Problem
Denver’s current minimum wage ($19.29/hr in 2026) is marketed as progressive. It isn’t. The MIT Living Wage Calculator for Denver County shows:
- 1 adult, 0 children: $21-22/hr needed
- 2 adults (both working), 2 children: $25-26/hr needed
- 1 adult, 1 child: $42-44/hr needed
The current minimum wage does not allow a single adult to live in Denver without a second job or roommates. For families, it’s a poverty wage dressed up as progress.
Meanwhile, Denver’s economy generates enormous wealth. The question is not whether the money exists - it’s who gets it.
What Denver Currently Does
Denver’s minimum wage is $19.29/hr as of January 1, 2026, up from $18.81/hr in 2025, following annual CPI adjustments that began with a 2019 voter-approved ordinance. The city has announced a further adjustment to $19.84/hr effective January 1, 2027 (Denver Department of Finance, 2025; Denver Labor, 2026). Denver’s minimum wage is among the highest municipal rates in the country but still falls $6-7/hr short of what MIT’s Living Wage Calculator identifies as necessary for a family of four (livingwage.mit.edu, accessed 2024). Approximately 20-25% of Denver workers earn between $18 and $25/hr (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood MSA, 2023).
Our Solution
The Denver Living Wage Act
Phase-in schedule:
| Date | Minimum Wage |
|---|---|
| 2027 | $21.00/hr |
| 2028 | $23.00/hr |
| 2029 | $25.00/hr |
| 2030+ | Indexed to Denver CPI (never decreases) |
Key provisions:
- One Fair Wage: Eliminate the tipped minimum wage entirely. Every worker gets the full $25/hr. Tips remain the property of workers and are additional income, not a substitute for wages. (See: One Fair Wage proposal for details.)
- No youth sub-minimum: Workers under 18 receive the full minimum wage. A teenager’s labor is not worth less because of their age.
- No disability sub-minimum: Eliminate Section 14(c) certificates. People with disabilities deserve the same minimum wage as everyone else. Period.
- Applies to all workers: No exemptions for gig workers, domestic workers, agricultural workers, or any other category. If you work in Denver, you earn Denver’s minimum wage.
- Annual indexing: After reaching $25/hr, the minimum wage increases automatically with Denver CPI. No more years-long fights to adjust for inflation.
- Wage theft enforcement: Dedicated wage theft investigators in the city attorney’s office. Triple damages for violations. Public naming of violators. Criminal prosecution for repeat offenders.
International Context: America’s Wage Floor is the Outlier
| Country | Minimum Wage (USD equiv.) | How It’s Set | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | $15.50/hr (23.23 AUD) | Independent Fair Work Commission reviews annually, considers cost of living | 30 years without recession before COVID. No mass unemployment from high minimum wage. |
| France | $13.80/hr (SMIC) | Indexed to inflation automatically + periodic government increases | Low-wage workers have purchasing power. Restaurant industry thrives. |
| UK | $14.20/hr (£11.44, National Living Wage) | Independent Low Pay Commission recommends, considers economic data | Introduced at $5.50 in 1999. Raised steadily to $14+ with zero detectable negative employment effects (studies by Arindrajit Dube, internationally recognized). |
| Germany | $14.50/hr (€12.41) | Minimum Wage Commission + sectoral agreements push far higher | Introduced in 2015. Employment INCREASED after implementation, contrary to every conservative prediction. |
| Denmark | ~$22/hr (no statutory minimum - set by sectoral agreements) | Union-employer negotiations | McDonald’s workers earn $22/hr + 6 weeks vacation. The Big Mac costs $0.35 more than in the US. |
| USA | $7.25/hr (federal, unchanged since 2009) | Congressional action required (politically gridlocked) | Lowest minimum wage relative to median income of any OECD country. The federal minimum wage in real dollars is lower today than it was in 1968. |
$25/hr in Denver is not radical - it’s what basic cost-of-living arithmetic demands, and it’s in line with what workers earn in countries with stronger economies and lower poverty rates.
Economic Impact
“But won’t businesses close?”
The evidence says no. Comprehensive studies of minimum wage increases in Seattle ($15), San Francisco ($18), and other cities show:
- Minimal to zero job losses
- Reduced worker turnover (saves businesses money)
- Increased consumer spending in local economy
- Reduced reliance on public assistance programs
The workers who earn $25/hr spend that money in Denver - at Denver businesses. This is economic stimulus that flows directly into the local economy, not into offshore bank accounts.
What $25/hr means for a Denver worker:
- Annual income: $52,000 (full-time)
- Can afford rent at $1,300/month (30% of income) - currently below Denver’s median, but livable with roommate or partner
- Can afford health insurance, food, and transportation
- Reduced reliance on SNAP, Medicaid, and other public assistance - saving taxpayers money
How We Pay For It
Businesses pay their workers. This is not a government spending program.
Transition support for small businesses:
- 2-year tax credit for businesses under 20 employees to offset wage increase
- Free business consulting through Denver Economic Development
- Increased consumer spending from higher wages benefits small businesses directly
Frequently Asked Questions
“$25 is too much. Businesses will automate.” Automation is happening regardless of the minimum wage. The question is whether humans who still work get paid enough to live. If a business can’t exist without paying poverty wages, it’s subsidized by taxpayer-funded food stamps and Medicaid for its workers. That’s corporate welfare.
“What about restaurants?” See: One Fair Wage. Restaurants in states that eliminated the tipped minimum wage (California, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, Minnesota, Nevada) have not collapsed. In fact, restaurant employment in those states grew faster than in tipped-wage states.
“This will cause inflation.” Labor costs are typically 25-35% of a restaurant’s expenses and less for other businesses. A 30% wage increase translates to roughly 7-10% price increases in the most labor-intensive industries - far less than the 30%+ wage gain for workers. Workers come out ahead.
“What about Denver businesses competing with businesses in Aurora, Lakewood, and other surrounding cities?” This is the “border effect” argument, and it’s been studied extensively. Research by Arindrajit Dube, T. William Lester, and Michael Reich (2010, “Minimum Wage Effects Across State Borders”) found minimal to zero cross-border employment effects from minimum wage differentials between adjacent counties. Workers spend where they live, and location-dependent businesses (restaurants, retail, services) can’t relocate to serve Denver customers from Aurora. Denver already has a $2-3/hr wage premium over Colorado’s statewide minimum, and employment has not migrated to surrounding cities.
Who Opposes This (and Why)
- Colorado Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association are the primary lobby against wage increases, particularly for tipped workers.
- Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce has historically opposed city-level minimum wage increases.
- National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) opposes mandated wage increases as a matter of policy.
Their argument: “It will cost jobs and hurt small businesses.” Our response: Every major minimum wage increase - Seattle, San Francisco, Denver’s own increases since 2020 - has been followed by predictions of job losses that never materialized. The empirical evidence from Dube, Lester, and Reich (2010), Cengiz et al. (2019), and the UK’s Low Pay Commission (2023 annual report) consistently finds minimal negative employment effects.
References
- MIT Living Wage Calculator, Denver County, livingwage.mit.edu (accessed 2024)
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood MSA, May 2023
- Arindrajit Dube, T. William Lester, Michael Reich, “Minimum Wage Effects Across State Borders: Estimates Using Contiguous Counties,” Review of Economics and Statistics 92(4): 945-964 (2010)
- Doruk Cengiz et al., “The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 134(3): 1405-1454 (2019)
- UK Low Pay Commission, National Minimum Wage Annual Report, 2023
- Denver Department of Finance, “Denver Local Minimum Wage Adjusts to $19.29 per Hour for 2026” (2025); Denver Labor (Auditor’s Office), Citywide Minimum Wage schedule, 2026-2027 rates
- Denver Department of Finance, Minimum Wage Ordinance Annual Report, 2024
- University of Washington, Seattle Minimum Wage Study, various publications (2017-2023)