Fence Erectors in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,633
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$8,747
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,093
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
$48,380
Kept after tax
$39,633
Worth in national money
$39,093
State rank
19
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Colorado sits in the middle of the pack for fence erectors. The median is $48,380, ranking 19 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Colorado, this one sits low: 372 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $48,380 the take-home is $39,633, which is worth about $39,093 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $49,840, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Colorado occupies the middle band for fence erectors: a median of $48,380, ranking 19 of 45. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Fence erectors occupies position 372 of 491 in Colorado's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Colorado's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for fence erectors on its $48,380 median: $39,633 retained after tax becomes $39,093 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $49,840 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Fence Erectors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,560 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,520 |
| This salary | $48,380 |
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 | $39,633 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,053 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,154 |
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 | $46,612 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,815 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $48,380 as a midpoint for Colorado, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,560 and the ninetieth is $61,520 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Colorado the take-home figure of $39,633, from $48,380, 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 372 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 $39,093 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 372.
- The Colorado median of $48,380 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,560 to $61,520. 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 $39,633 from $48,380. 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 372 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,093, worked from $48,380, 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 372 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 $49,840 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,560 at the bottom tenth to $61,520 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $39,093 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 $39,633 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $49,840. 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 ($38,560 to $61,520) 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 $39,093 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 $39,633 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.