Whole Foods Pay Change Starts Sept. 28 for Colorado Store Workers

Whole Foods Market says every U.S. hourly store team member will receive more compensation beginning Monday, September 28, 2026. The change covers its Colorado store workforce: Whole Foods lists a store at 870 S. Colorado Blvd. in Denver.

For frontline employees, the company is also changing how pay progresses. In place of a performance-review-based model, it says workers will receive predictable increases as they build time in their roles. Whole Foods has not specified the size of each worker’s increase, so the new model does not translate into a single raise amount for Colorado staff.

What the national pay figures mean

Whole Foods projects a national average store-team-member wage above $21 an hour following the change. Its separate projection of more than $29 an hour in average total compensation includes the value of benefits employees elect. Neither figure is a Colorado wage rate or an individual worker’s new pay.

The company says it will invest more than $230 million over the year ahead in U.S. pay, benefits and programs. That total is not solely for the September pay increase.

Benefits follow in January

Starting January 1, 2027, Whole Foods says eligible full-time employees will have access to health-plan options starting at $5 a week, with $5 copays under the options it describes. Eligible employees are also slated for company-paid short- and long-term disability insurance and expanded parental leave.

For nearly 20,000 U.S. part-time employees who work at least 20 hours a week, the company says dental and vision coverage and free basic life insurance will become available. Career Choice tuition support is scheduled for later in 2027. For Colorado workers, the immediate change is compensation on September 28; benefit access follows on a separate schedule and depends on eligibility and plan selection.