Orderlies in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,980
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$7,590
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,489
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
$43,570
Kept after tax
$35,980
Worth in national money
$35,489
State rank
9
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Colorado pays orderlies a middle wage of $43,570, ranking 9 of 47 states and sitting about 13.79% above the national middle.
- Within Colorado this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, orderlies ranks 437. 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 $43,570, take-home of $35,980 is worth roughly $35,489 in national money. The average lands at $43,090, below the middle of the range.
- Colorado's median for orderlies is $43,570, about 13.79% above the national figure and 9 of 47 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, orderlies ranks 437 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 orderlies, whose median is $43,570, the adjusted figure of $35,489 differs little from $35,980 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $43,090 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Orderlies
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,220 |
| This salary | $43,570 |
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 | $35,980 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,188 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,780 |
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 | $42,066 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,362 |
| 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 orderlies in Colorado earn under $43,570 and half over. The published range runs $37,610 at the tenth percentile to $47,220 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 $35,980, worked from $43,570. 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 437 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,489 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 437.
- Figures are distribution medians for orderlies in Colorado, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,610 to $47,220; 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 $35,980, on $43,570 for work ranking 437 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 437 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,489, worked from $43,570, 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 437 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,610 at the tenth percentile, $47,220 at the ninetieth.
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 $35,489 rather than its face figure.
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, $35,980 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 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 ($37,610 to $47,220) 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 $35,489 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 $35,980 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.