Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,547
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$8,403
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,021
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
$46,950
Kept after tax
$38,547
Worth in national money
$38,021
State rank
29
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Colorado is 29 of 47 states for this job, with a middle wage of $46,950. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Colorado this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 397. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Colorado costs about what the country costs, so from $46,950, take-home of $38,547 is worth roughly $38,021 in national money. The average comes to $50,170, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Colorado ranks 29 of 47 for crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders at $46,950. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Colorado reports, crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders ranks 397 of 491, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Colorado is near the national base, so for crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders, whose median is $46,950, the adjusted figure of $38,021 differs little from $38,547 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $50,170 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,590 |
| This salary | $46,950 |
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 | $38,547 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,904 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,043 |
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 | $45,261 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,680 |
| 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 $46,950. The published range is $39,210 up to $64,590, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Colorado the take-home figure of $38,547, from $46,950, 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 397 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 $38,021, the adjusted value of that $46,950 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 397 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,210 to $64,590. 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 $38,547 from $46,950. 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 397 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $38,021 — the adjusted value of that $46,950 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 397 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $50,170, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $39,210 at the bottom tenth to $64,590 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Colorado costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $38,021 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Colorado adds its own income tax on top — which is why $38,547 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $50,170. 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 ($39,210 to $64,590) 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 $38,021 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 $38,547 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.