Here's How Much Minimum Wage In Colorado Is Increasing

ACROSS COLORADO – Minimum wage workers in Colorado will see their paychecks go up this year, along with those in 19 other states and two dozen cities and counties. That’s according to a new analysis by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, which tracks minimum wage changes across the country.

Overall, more than five million low-wage workers will see their paychecks go up even as the federal minimum wage remains stagnant for the 12th consecutive year, the EPI said.

In Colorado, approximately a quarter of a million minimum wage workers, or almost 10 percent of the Colorado workforce will see their paychecks increase from $10.20 an hour to $11.10 an hour. The total annual extra pay (before taxes) will be $1,070 for these workers, or about $22.30 per week. The total increase in annual wages is expected to add up to $273,050,500, the study said.

The federal minimum wage has been stagnant at $7.25 per hour since 2015.

In six states — Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Missouri and Washington — minimum wages climbed due to voter ballots.

“In recent years, as federal and state lawmakers in many states have failed to update minimum wages, voters have taken up the charge themselves, passing wage increases at the ballot box,” the authors of the blog post wrote.

Across the country, pay bumps are not consistent, and many aren't large by any stretch of the imagination. Workers will see a nickel pay raise in Alaska and $1 in Maine and Massachusetts. California companies with more than 25 workers must also give minimum wage workers a $1-an-hour increase.

Eight states — Alaska, Florida, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, South Dakota and Vermont — increased minimum wages automatically to keep up with inflation. This is intended to ensure those workers don’t lose buying power from year to year.

In six states — California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Rhode Island — the increases were set by state lawmakers. Several of those bumps were part of broader plans to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

The EPI said minimum wage increases are one of the most straightforward ways to boost pay for the lowest-earning workers. A “flurry” of similar increases in recent years have led to “sizable gains” in wages for millions nationwide.

“After decades of policy choices that have suppressed wage growth for the most workers, it is encouraging that policymakers and voters have increasingly embraced this simple and effective policy tool,” the author wrote.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

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