Diagnostic Medical Sonographers in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$81,035
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$27,375
25.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$79,930
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
$108,410
Kept after tax
$81,035
Worth in national money
$79,930
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Colorado pays this job a middle wage of $108,410, ranking 6 of 51 states and sitting about 12.24% above the national middle.
- Within Colorado this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 68 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $108,410, tax leaves $81,035, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $79,930 in comparable terms. Here the average runs under the middle, at $108,310.
- Colorado's median for diagnostic medical sonographers is $108,410, about 12.24% above the national figure and 6 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation Colorado publishes a median for, diagnostic medical sonographers sits 68 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Because Colorado sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for diagnostic medical sonographers — median $108,410 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $81,035 retained, $79,930 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $108,310 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $85,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $108,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $130,720 |
| This salary | $108,410 |
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 | $81,035 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $85,096 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,640 |
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 | $102,637 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,553 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $108,410 as a midpoint for Colorado, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $85,500 and the ninetieth is $130,720 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $81,035 take-home in Colorado comes from $108,410. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 68 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $79,930 uses one figure for the whole of Colorado. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 68.
- The Colorado median of $108,410 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $85,500 to $130,720. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $81,035, from $108,410, assumes a single Colorado filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 68 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 6 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $79,930, worked from $108,410, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Colorado address, on work sitting at 68 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $85,500 at the tenth percentile, $130,720 at the ninetieth.
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 $79,930 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Colorado then takes its own share, leaving $81,035.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($85,500 to $130,720) 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 $79,930 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 $81,035 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.