Ophthalmic Medical Technicians in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,023
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$8,237
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,505
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
$46,260
Kept after tax
$38,023
Worth in national money
$37,505
State rank
23
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Colorado is 23 of 51 states for ophthalmic medical technicians, with a middle wage of $46,260. 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, ophthalmic medical technicians ranks 405. 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 $46,260, take-home of $38,023 is worth roughly $37,505 in national money. The average comes to $50,090, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Colorado ranks 23 of 51 for ophthalmic medical technicians at $46,260. 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, ophthalmic medical technicians ranks 405 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 ophthalmic medical technicians, whose median is $46,260, the adjusted figure of $37,505 differs little from $38,023 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $50,090 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Ophthalmic Medical Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,790 |
| This salary | $46,260 |
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 | $38,023 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,350 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,989 |
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 | $44,608 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,615 |
| 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 $46,260. The published range is $37,150 up to $65,790, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Colorado the take-home figure of $38,023, from $46,260, 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 405 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $37,505, the adjusted value of that $46,260 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Colorado. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 405 of 491 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for ophthalmic medical technicians in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,150 to $65,790. 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 $38,023 from $46,260. 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 405 of 491 locally.
- This $37,505 adjusted figure, worked from $46,260, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 405 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 405 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 $50,090, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,150 at the bottom tenth to $65,790 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 $37,505 — 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 $38,023.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $50,090. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,150 to $65,790) 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 $37,505 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 $38,023 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.