Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,571
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$18,359
22.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$62,705
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
$81,930
Kept after tax
$63,571
Worth in national money
$62,705
State rank
17
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Colorado is 17 of 48 states for this job, with a middle wage of $81,930. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 134 among 491 occupations Colorado publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Colorado costs about what the country costs, so from $81,930, take-home of $63,571 is worth roughly $62,705 in national money. The average comes to $90,330, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Colorado ranks 17 of 48 for mathematical science teachers, postsecondary at $81,930. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 134 of 491 in Colorado places mathematical science 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 mathematical science teachers, postsecondary, whose median is $81,930, the adjusted figure of $62,705 differs little from $63,571 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $90,330 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,780 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $81,930 |
| Top tenth earn over | $134,020 |
| This salary | $81,930 |
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 | $63,571 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $66,468 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,695 |
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 | $77,813 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,867 |
| 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 $81,930. The published range is $50,780 up to $134,020, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Colorado the take-home figure of $63,571, from $81,930, 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 134 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 $62,705 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 134.
- Reported values are medians; for mathematical science teachers, postsecondary in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $50,780 to $134,020. 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 $63,571 from $81,930. 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 134 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $62,705, worked from $81,930, 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 134 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 $90,330 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $50,780 and the top tenth $134,020 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $62,705 — 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, $63,571 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $90,330. 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 ($50,780) and the ninetieth ($134,020) 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 $62,705 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 $63,571 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.