Cargo and Freight Agents in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,919
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$9,471
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,348
Colorado costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Colorado — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$51,390
Kept after tax
$41,919
Worth in national money
$41,348
State rank
21
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Colorado is 21 of 48 states for cargo and freight agents, with a middle wage of $51,390. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Colorado reports figures for, this is number 335.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $51,390 the take-home is $41,919, which is worth about $41,348 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $54,950, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Colorado ranks 21 of 48 for cargo and freight agents at $51,390. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Colorado's occupational distribution, cargo and freight agents sits at 335 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Colorado's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for cargo and freight agents on its $51,390 median: $41,919 retained after tax becomes $41,348 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $54,950 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Cargo and Freight Agents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,760 |
| This salary | $51,390 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Colorado | $41,919 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,472 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,388 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $49,457 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,097 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Colorado earn less than $51,390. The published range is $43,940 up to $72,760, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Colorado the take-home figure of $41,919, from $51,390, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 335 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Colorado, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $41,348, the adjusted value of that $51,390 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 335 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for cargo and freight agents in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $43,940 to $72,760. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Colorado is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $41,919 from $51,390. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 335 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $41,348 — the adjusted value of that $51,390 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 335 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $54,950 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $43,940 at the tenth percentile, $72,760 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Colorado run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $41,348 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Colorado's own levy, $41,919 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Colorado is $54,950. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($43,940 to $72,760) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Colorado rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Colorado's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $41,348 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $41,919 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Colorado income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.