Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,874
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$16,966
21.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,044
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
$77,840
Kept after tax
$60,874
Worth in national money
$60,044
State rank
22
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Colorado is 22 of 45 states for this job, with a middle wage of $77,840. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 159 among 491 occupations Colorado publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Colorado costs about what the country costs, so from $77,840, take-home of $60,874 is worth roughly $60,044 in national money. The average comes to $87,480, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Colorado ranks 22 of 45 for foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary at $77,840. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 159 of 491 in Colorado places foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary 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 foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary, whose median is $77,840, the adjusted figure of $60,044 differs little from $60,874 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $87,480 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,780 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $128,910 |
| This salary | $77,840 |
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 | $60,874 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,590 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,395 |
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 | $73,979 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,452 |
| 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 foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary in Colorado earn under $77,840 and half over. The published range runs $51,780 at the tenth percentile to $128,910 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $60,874 take-home in Colorado comes from $77,840. 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 159 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Colorado, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $60,044, the adjusted value of that $77,840 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 159 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary in Colorado, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,780 to $128,910; 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.
- Retained pay of $60,874, from $77,840, 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 159 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 45 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $60,044 — the adjusted value of that $77,840 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 159 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 $87,480 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 $51,780 at the bottom tenth to $128,910 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $60,044 — 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, $60,874 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $87,480. 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 ($51,780) and the ninetieth ($128,910) 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 $60,044 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 $60,874 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.