Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,733
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$16,377
21.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,919
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
$76,110
Kept after tax
$59,733
Worth in national money
$58,919
State rank
25
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Colorado is 25 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $76,110. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 170 among 491 occupations Colorado publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $76,110 the take-home is $59,733, which is worth about $58,919 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $78,980, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Colorado ranks 25 of 49 for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other at $76,110. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 170 of 491 in Colorado places engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other 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.
- Colorado's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other on its $76,110 median: $59,733 retained after tax becomes $58,919 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $78,980 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $107,280 |
| This salary | $76,110 |
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 | $59,733 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,373 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,268 |
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 | $72,357 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,277 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $76,110 as a midpoint for Colorado, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $50,530 and the ninetieth is $107,280 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Colorado the take-home figure of $59,733, from $76,110, 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 170 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 $58,919 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 170.
- The Colorado median of $76,110 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $50,530 to $107,280. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Colorado is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,733 from $76,110. 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 170 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $58,919, worked from $76,110, 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 170 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 $78,980 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $50,530 at the bottom tenth to $107,280 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $58,919 of national purchasing power.
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 $59,733.
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 49 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 $78,980. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($50,530) and the ninetieth ($107,280) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $58,919 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 $59,733 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.