Natural Sciences Managers in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$109,645
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$43,085
28.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$108,151
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
$152,730
Kept after tax
$109,645
Worth in national money
$108,151
State rank
11
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for natural sciences managers is strong here. Colorado's middle earner gets $152,730, putting the state 11 of 48 — about 8.67% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Colorado this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, natural sciences managers ranks 21 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Colorado costs about what the country costs, so from $152,730, take-home of $109,645 is worth roughly $108,151 in national money. The average comes to $172,180, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For natural sciences managers, Colorado sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $152,730, ranking 11 of 48 and running about 8.67% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation Colorado publishes a median for, natural sciences managers sits 21 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Price parity in Colorado is near the national base, so for natural sciences managers, whose median is $152,730, the adjusted figure of $108,151 differs little from $109,645 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $172,180 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Natural Sciences Managers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $89,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $152,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $289,970 |
| This salary | $152,730 |
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 | $109,645 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $115,657 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,869 |
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 | $143,935 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,452 |
| 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 natural sciences managers in Colorado earn under $152,730 and half over. The published range runs $89,900 at the tenth percentile to $289,970 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $109,645 take-home in Colorado comes from $152,730. 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 21 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Colorado, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $108,151, the adjusted value of that $152,730 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 21 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for natural sciences managers in Colorado, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $89,900 to $289,970; 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 $109,645, from $152,730, 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 21 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 11 of 48 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $108,151 — the adjusted value of that $152,730 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 21 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $172,180, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $89,900 at the bottom tenth to $289,970 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Colorado costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $108,151 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Colorado adds its own income tax on top — which is why $109,645 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 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 $172,180. 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 ($89,900) and the ninetieth ($289,970) 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 $108,151 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 $109,645 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.