Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,446
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$8,054
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,935
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
$45,500
Kept after tax
$37,446
Worth in national money
$36,935
State rank
13
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Colorado's middle earner gets $45,500, putting the state 13 of 51 — about 19.3% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Colorado this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 420. 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 $45,500, take-home of $37,446 is worth roughly $36,935 in national money. The average comes to $53,270, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For preschool teachers, except special education, Colorado sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $45,500, ranking 13 of 51 and running about 19.3% 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.
- Against every occupation Colorado reports, preschool teachers, except special education ranks 420 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 preschool teachers, except special education, whose median is $45,500, the adjusted figure of $36,935 differs little from $37,446 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $53,270 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,820 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $84,700 |
| This salary | $45,500 |
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 | $37,446 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,739 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,930 |
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 | $43,890 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,544 |
| 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 preschool teachers, except special education in Colorado earn under $45,500 and half over. The published range runs $35,820 at the tenth percentile to $84,700 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 $37,446, worked from $45,500. 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 420 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Colorado, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $36,935, the adjusted value of that $45,500 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 420 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for preschool teachers, except special education in Colorado, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,820 to $84,700; 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 $37,446, on $45,500 for work ranking 420 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 420 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $36,935 — the adjusted value of that $45,500 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 420 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $53,270, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $35,820, the highest tenth $84,700, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $36,935 of national purchasing power.
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, $37,446 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $53,270. 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 ($35,820) and the ninetieth ($84,700) 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 $36,935 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 $37,446 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.