Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,555
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$11,255
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,906
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
$58,810
Kept after tax
$47,555
Worth in national money
$46,906
State rank
21
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Colorado pays this job around $58,810 at the midpoint, 21 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Colorado reports figures for, this is number 286.
- No great distortion either way. Colorado costs about what the country costs, so from $58,810, take-home of $47,555 is worth roughly $46,906 in national money. The average lands at $57,140, below the middle of the range.
- For paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators the Colorado median is $58,810, ranking 21 of 50 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Colorado's occupational distribution, paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators sits at 286 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Price parity in Colorado is near the national base, so for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators, whose median is $58,810, the adjusted figure of $46,906 differs little from $47,555 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $57,140 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,810 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,650 |
| This salary | $58,810 |
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 | $47,555 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,434 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,965 |
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 | $56,471 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,795 |
| 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 $58,810. The published range is $43,610 up to $72,650, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Colorado's $47,555, worked from $58,810. 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 286 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Colorado, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $46,906, the adjusted value of that $58,810 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 286 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $43,610 to $72,650. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Colorado take-home of $47,555, on $58,810 for work ranking 286 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 286 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $46,906 — the adjusted value of that $58,810 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 286 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $43,610 at the bottom tenth to $72,650 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 $46,906 of national purchasing power.
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 $47,555.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($43,610 to $72,650) 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 $46,906 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 $47,555 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.