Labor Market Pulse · Restaurant Industry · September 2026
Restaurant Industry Labor Market Report: Colorado Springs, CO MSA — September 2026
Colorado Springs management pay splits as catering surges, GM pay cools.
Catering Manager advertised pay has climbed to $60,400 — 19% above the national median — while Restaurant Manager/GM pay softens to $60,742 against a backdrop of Colorado's wage floor rising to $15.71 in January.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Colorado minimum wage, Jan 2027: $15.71/hr — Up from $15.16; tipped floor rises to $12.69
- El Paso County unemployment trend: ~4.1% — Rising from 3.8% in May 2026
- National food service job openings: 673,000 — Down from 916,000 in January 2026
- Colorado restaurant wage growth since 2020: 34% — Yet hiring remains difficult statewide
Key takeaways
Catering Manager pay is pulling away from the national pack.
Metro median of $60,400 sits roughly 19% above the $50,960 national figure and is trending up significantly, while general manager pay moves the opposite direction. This divergence suggests banquet and events demand is outpacing day-to-day restaurant management as a compensation priority locally.
GM and Assistant Manager pay are softening at the same time.
Both roles show moderate downward movement locally and nationally — Restaurant Manager/GM at $60,742 versus $59,618 national, Assistant Manager at $40,790 versus $39,000 national. Parallel declines across two management tiers may reflect easing competition for leadership roles rather than a single employer's pay decision.
Colorado's January wage step compounds an already rising floor.
Statewide minimum rises from $15.16 to $15.71 on January 1, a 3.6% jump layered on top of wages already up 34% since 2020. Operators budgeting for 2027 should model this increase now rather than treating it as a routine annual adjustment.
Hourly roles look stable while management pay realigns.
Crew, Line Cook, Server, and Shift Manager pay are all flat this month, even as management compensation shifts meaningfully in both directions. Stability at the hourly level may reflect a labor pool that has adjusted to recent wage floor increases, leaving management compensation as the more active lever for 2026 budget decisions.
Median advertised pay by role — Colorado Springs, CO MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assistant Restaurant Manager | $32,268 | $40,790 | $48,185 | Moderate decline | $39,000 |
| Catering Manager | $47,500 | $60,400 | $62,500 | Significant increase | $50,960 |
| Crew | $28,127 | $33,280 | $35,360 | Stable | $29,839 |
| Line Cook | $33,505 | $37,440 | $39,520 | Stable | $36,826 |
| Restaurant Manager/General Manager | $49,407 | $60,742 | $65,000 | Moderate decline | $59,618 |
| Server | $27,664 | $34,299 | $36,566 | Stable | $35,012 |
| Shift Manager | $30,894 | $36,109 | $38,480 | Stable | $32,731 |
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Local market conditions
Colorado Springs restaurant employers are navigating a tightening statewide wage floor ($15.16/hour, rising to $15.71 in January) against a metro labor pool constrained by slower population growth and El Paso County unemployment that has ticked up toward 4.1% alongside the state's third consecutive month of job losses. Seasonal softening typical of September — as student workers exit the labor pool — is intersecting with a national moderation in restaurant job openings, suggesting candidate scarcity may persist even as overall hiring urgency cools.
What it means
Falling job openings nationally (673,000 in July versus 916,000 in January) signal reduced competition for entry-level talent, but Colorado's mandated January wage step to $15.71 means labor cost planning cannot rely on softer hiring conditions alone to offset payroll growth. Catering Manager pay climbing 19% above national median while GM and Assistant Manager pay softens locally points to uneven demand across the management tier rather than broad-based wage relief. Consider reviewing management-tier compensation structures role by role rather than applying a flat percentage adjustment across the leadership team.
Looking ahead
Expected policy shift: Colorado's minimum wage increase to $15.71 ($12.69 tipped) takes effect January 1, 2027. Operators should finalize 2027 labor cost projections before year-end budget cycles close.
Worth watching: El Paso County unemployment has drifted toward 4.1% alongside three straight months of statewide job losses. Watch whether this loosens the candidate pool for back-of-house roles or simply reflects slower population growth suppressing both supply and demand.
Emerging pressure point: National accommodation and food services job openings have fallen from 916,000 to 673,000 since January, suggesting reduced hiring urgency industry-wide. Confirm whether local time-to-fill metrics are tracking this national cooling before easing recruitment spend.
Potential inflection point: Catering Manager pay's sharp local rise against flat national movement may signal a Colorado Springs-specific events and banquet demand surge. Monitor whether this spreads to adjacent FOH leadership roles or remains isolated to catering.
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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