The Boulder City Council is considering raising the city’s minimum wage to between $15.57 per hour and $16.58 per hour starting next year, with additional increases of over a dollar in each of the following two years. A final decision is expected later this year.
If approved, the wage hike would impact thousands of workers currently earning the state minimum wage of $14.42 per hour. Labor advocates want the city council to raise the minimum wage to $25 per hour by 2030, but councilmembers were noncommittal during a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 22. They said they were concerned about the impact on small businesses facing higher labor costs, even as they agreed the increase is necessary to help workers afford to live in Boulder.
The cost of living in the city, driven primarily by housing expenses, has been steadily rising, forcing workers to live increasingly farther away from their jobs in Boulder.
“Minimum wage increases are one part of addressing the affordability crisis,” Mayor Pro Tem Nicole Speer said during the virtual council meeting.
The decision to raise Boulder’s minimum wage follows the passage of a 2019 Colorado law that lifted a statewide preemption, allowing cities to set their own minimum wages. Boulder has been coordinating with neighboring local governments — Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville and Erie — to establish a regional minimum wage.
Councilmembers were divided on the scope of the increase. Some advocated for a smaller increase and a more gradual phase-in, citing stagnating sales tax revenue and an office vacancy rate nearing 30% as indicators of a forbidding business climate. Several emphasized the slim margins at Boulder restaurants and the closures that have occurred since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“When is too much too much? When we’ve pushed the cart over the hill?” Councilmember Matt Benjamin said.
To better understand the local impact of raising the minimum wage, Boulder and nearby governments surveyed 993 workers through an online questionnaire. The findings, analyzed in a July 2024 report by ECOnorthwest, a public policy research firm based in Portland, Oregon, revealed some of the ramifications for the region, which includes much of Boulder County and parts of Weld County.
The analysis found that minimum wage workers in the region tend to be younger, female and disproportionately Latino, Black, Indigenous and people of color. Some of the lowest-paying jobs in Boulder County are in retail, hospitality, food service, childcare, agriculture, and grounds cleaning and maintenance.
Approximately 10% of workers in the region earn less than $15 per hour. These workers typically log more hours.
“A full-time job is no longer a guarantee that basic needs will be met,” Ana Fernandez Frank, policy and community outreach manager at the Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA), wrote in a letter to the Boulder City Council advocating for the wage increase.
According to the ECONorthwest analysis, raising the minimum wage to $25 by 2030 — a scenario central to much of the report — would reduce the poverty rate by 0.2% but also result in a 1% decrease in employment. Business owners may respond to the increased labor costs by cutting jobs, raising prices for consumers or taking other measures.
“Many simply tell us that a minimum wage increase at this time will break their backs,” John Tayer, the president and CEO of the Boulder Chamber, wrote in a letter to the council. The chamber surveyed businesses last year and heard “overwhelming opposition” to raising the minimum wage. But the organization has not yet taken a formal position.
Under Colorado law, cities cannot exempt employees from the wage increases except for minors in the custody of their parents and contract workers. Local governments are also prohibited from altering the statewide tip credit, which allows for a reduced minimum wage for tipped workers. Cities are also limited to annual increases of the minimum wage by 15% or $1.75, whichever is higher. Denver increased its minimum wage to $18.29 in January 2024.
Due to their divisions, councilmembers asked city staff to draft two ordinances to weigh against each other: one starting at $15.57 per hour and the other at $16.58 per hour, with different yearly increases. A public hearing and formal vote on an ordinance to set the minimum wage are expected later this year.
What? Denver went to $18.29 in ’24! And Boulder’s going to $15.57-$16.68, with the cost of living here? What if we paid folks “closer” to a real living wage at a minimum of $40/hr. ? Do you realize what kind of a cash infusion this would give to this flailing economy? INSTANTLY.
Did you see the article in Boulder Weekly yesterday about Under the Sun closing? The main reason is because they can’t find employees or managers. None of them can live close to Boulder.
This stuff is chasing your tail endlessly. Boulder is just expensive and there is no fixing it.
You got that right short stack 🥞
Sounds like the sentiment of someone with a vested interest in really high rental prices.
If only there’d been a fraction of the handwringing last night dedicated to finding a solution to greedhead corporate landlords gleefully jacking rents sky high until every small business struggles to survive. Pitting drastically underpaid employees against employers is NOT the answer. If Boulder doesn’t pull its collective head out and start addressing this very big elephant in the room, employers and employees will continually lose ground no matter what else is done. We can’t just be held captive to private equity and Tebo-type landlords and expect anything will change for the better. We’ve already lost a lot of what makes Boulder interesting. Start taking this seriously.
Yes – What Roxanne said!!!
Nailed it. Vested corporate interests are strangling Boulder. People want to live, work, and play here, but consolidated ownership is looking to maximize their dollar. You’d think at 80 years old, one might be happy enough with that they already have.
Yup, Roxanne. Let the developer pay. They can handle it!
When we all do better, we all do better. Mike? can do.
DNC = Decades No Change. Now is now.
I own a small business in The City of Boulder and we barely get by, as all costs are super high across the board, yet I can’t raise my prices by 20% or 30% so quickly. If minimum wage went up by several or more dollars, I am closing once my lease is up. Many small businesses are in the same boat. Raising minimum wage will result in many local businesses closing. Large corporations will move into those openings in the economy. That is worse for the local economy than a few more dollars an hour for the lowest paid employees. Keeping a vibrant local business scene is good for everyone.
Then let the banks give temporary relief to the small business owners. The small businesses will very quickly be rolling in the bucks! As will the banks, when money starts moving!
How much do you pay to lease space for your business? Do you consider it reasonable?