Physical Therapists in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$76,827
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$25,203
24.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$75,780
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
$102,030
Kept after tax
$76,827
Worth in national money
$75,780
State rank
17
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for physical therapists is strong here. Colorado's middle earner gets $102,030, putting the state 17 of 51 — about 0.71% ahead of the national figure.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 491 occupations Colorado reports, physical therapists comes in at 87 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- No great distortion either way. Colorado costs about what the country costs, so from $102,030, take-home of $76,827 is worth roughly $75,780 in national money. The average comes to $103,870, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For physical therapists, Colorado sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $102,030, ranking 17 of 51 and running about 0.71% 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.
- Physical therapists ranks 87 of 491 occupations by median in Colorado, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Price parity in Colorado is near the national base, so for physical therapists, whose median is $102,030, the adjusted figure of $75,780 differs little from $76,827 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $103,870 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physical Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $76,460 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $102,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $132,010 |
| This salary | $102,030 |
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 | $76,827 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,608 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,172 |
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 | $96,656 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,906 |
| 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 $102,030. The published range is $76,460 up to $132,010, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Colorado the take-home figure of $76,827, from $102,030, 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 87 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $75,780, the adjusted value of that $102,030 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 87 of 491 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for physical therapists in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $76,460 to $132,010. 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 $76,827 from $102,030. 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 87 of 491 locally.
- This $75,780 adjusted figure, worked from $102,030, 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 87 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 87 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $76,460 and the top tenth $132,010, so most people doing this work in Colorado sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $75,780 — 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 $76,827.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($76,460 to $132,010) 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 $75,780 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 $76,827 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.