Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,810
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$11,970
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,131
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
$61,780
Kept after tax
$49,810
Worth in national money
$49,131
State rank
11
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Colorado is one of the better-paying states for drywall and ceiling tile installers. The middle earner takes $61,780, which ranks 11 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 4.84% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Drywall and ceiling tile installers ranks 258 among 491 occupations Colorado publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Colorado costs about what the country costs, so from $61,780, take-home of $49,810 is worth roughly $49,131 in national money. The average comes to $61,940, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Colorado ranks 11 of 49 states publishing a median for drywall and ceiling tile installers, at $61,780 — about 4.84% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 258 of 491 in Colorado places drywall and ceiling tile installers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Price parity in Colorado is near the national base, so for drywall and ceiling tile installers, whose median is $61,780, the adjusted figure of $49,131 differs little from $49,810 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $61,940 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,460 |
| This salary | $61,780 |
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 | $49,810 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,820 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,195 |
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 | $59,279 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,074 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of drywall and ceiling tile installers in Colorado earn under $61,780 and half over. The published range runs $44,520 at the tenth percentile to $79,460 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Colorado the take-home figure of $49,810, from $61,780, 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 258 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $49,131 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 258.
- Figures are distribution medians for drywall and ceiling tile installers in Colorado, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $44,520 to $79,460; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Colorado is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $49,810 from $61,780. 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 258 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $49,131, worked from $61,780, 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 258 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $44,520 at the tenth percentile, $79,460 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $49,131 of national purchasing power.
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 $49,810 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($44,520 to $79,460) 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 $49,131 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 $49,810 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.