Food Processing Workers, All Other in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,532
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$8,398
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,006
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
$46,930
Kept after tax
$38,532
Worth in national money
$38,006
State rank
1
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Colorado is one of the better-paying states for food processing workers, all other. The middle earner takes $46,930, which ranks 1 of 46 states with published figures. That is about 18.27% above the national middle.
- Within Colorado this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, food processing workers, all other ranks 398. 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 $46,930, take-home of $38,532 is worth roughly $38,006 in national money. The average lands at $45,810, below the middle of the range.
- Colorado ranks 1 of 46 states publishing a median for food processing workers, all other, at $46,930 — about 18.27% 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.
- Against every occupation Colorado reports, food processing workers, all other ranks 398 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 processing workers, all other, whose median is $46,930, the adjusted figure of $38,006 differs little from $38,532 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $45,810 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Food Processing Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,930 |
| Top tenth earn over | $52,030 |
| This salary | $46,930 |
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 | $38,532 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,888 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,041 |
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 | $45,242 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,678 |
| 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 $46,930. The published range is $37,110 up to $52,030, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Colorado the take-home figure of $38,532, from $46,930, 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 398 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $38,006, the adjusted value of that $46,930 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Colorado. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 398 of 491 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for food processing workers, all other in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,110 to $52,030. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Colorado is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,532 from $46,930. 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 398 of 491 locally.
- This $38,006 adjusted figure, worked from $46,930, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 398 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 398 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,110 at the tenth percentile, $52,030 at the ninetieth.
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 $38,006 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Colorado's own levy, $38,532 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 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 ($37,110 to $52,030) 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 $38,006 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 $38,532 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.