Food Preparation Workers in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,479
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$6,481
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,036
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
$38,960
Kept after tax
$32,479
Worth in national money
$32,036
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for food preparation workers is strong here. Colorado's middle earner gets $38,960, putting the state 4 of 51 — about 10.31% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Colorado this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, food preparation workers ranks 459. 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 $38,960, take-home of $32,479 is worth roughly $32,036 in national money. The average comes to $40,210, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For food preparation workers, Colorado sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $38,960, ranking 4 of 51 and running about 10.31% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Against every occupation Colorado reports, food preparation workers ranks 459 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 food preparation workers, whose median is $38,960, the adjusted figure of $32,036 differs little from $32,479 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $40,210 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Food Preparation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,000 |
| This salary | $38,960 |
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 | $32,479 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,484 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,422 |
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 | $37,708 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,929 |
| 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 $38,960. The published range is $30,800 up to $49,000, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $32,479 take-home in Colorado comes from $38,960. 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 459 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Colorado, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,036, the adjusted value of that $38,960 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 459 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for food preparation workers in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,800 to $49,000. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $32,479, from $38,960, 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 459 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 4 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $32,036 — the adjusted value of that $38,960 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 459 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 $40,210, 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 $30,800 at the bottom tenth to $49,000 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Colorado run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $32,036 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $32,479.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $40,210. 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 ($30,800 to $49,000) 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 $32,036 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 $32,479 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.