Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,524
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$8,396
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,999
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
$46,920
Kept after tax
$38,524
Worth in national money
$37,999
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Colorado is 18 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $46,920. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Colorado this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 399. 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 $46,920, take-home of $38,524 is worth roughly $37,999 in national money. The average comes to $47,200, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Colorado ranks 18 of 51 for medical secretaries and administrative assistants at $46,920. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Colorado reports, medical secretaries and administrative assistants ranks 399 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 medical secretaries and administrative assistants, whose median is $46,920, the adjusted figure of $37,999 differs little from $38,524 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $47,200 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,920 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,990 |
| This salary | $46,920 |
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 | $38,524 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,880 |
| 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 | $45,232 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,677 |
| 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 medical secretaries and administrative assistants in Colorado earn under $46,920 and half over. The published range runs $38,100 at the tenth percentile to $57,990 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Colorado's $38,524, worked from $46,920. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 399 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Colorado, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $37,999, the adjusted value of that $46,920 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 399 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical secretaries and administrative assistants in Colorado, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,100 to $57,990; 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.
- The Colorado take-home of $38,524, on $46,920 for work ranking 399 of 491 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 399 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $37,999 — the adjusted value of that $46,920 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 399 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,100 at the bottom tenth to $57,990 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $37,999 of national purchasing power.
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, $38,524 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,100 to $57,990) 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 $37,999 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 $38,524 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.