Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,873
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$7,557
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,384
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
$43,430
Kept after tax
$35,873
Worth in national money
$35,384
State rank
12
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Colorado pays this job a middle wage of $43,430, ranking 12 of 50 states and sitting about 10.57% above the national middle.
- Within Colorado this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 438. 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 $43,430, take-home of $35,873 is worth roughly $35,384 in national money. The average comes to $44,390, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Colorado's median for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service is $43,430, about 10.57% above the national figure and 12 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Against every occupation Colorado reports, mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service ranks 438 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 mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service, whose median is $43,430, the adjusted figure of $35,384 differs little from $35,873 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $44,390 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,120 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,240 |
| This salary | $43,430 |
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 | $35,873 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,076 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,769 |
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 | $41,933 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,349 |
| 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 mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in Colorado earn under $43,430 and half over. The published range runs $32,120 at the tenth percentile to $58,240 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $35,873 take-home in Colorado comes from $43,430. 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 438 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Colorado, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $35,384, the adjusted value of that $43,430 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 438 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in Colorado, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $32,120 to $58,240; 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 $35,873, from $43,430, 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 438 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 12 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $35,384 — the adjusted value of that $43,430 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 438 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $32,120 at the bottom tenth to $58,240 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 $35,384 — 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 $35,873.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 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 ($32,120 to $58,240) 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 $35,384 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 $35,873 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.