Private Detectives and Investigators in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,899
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$8,831
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,355
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
$48,730
Kept after tax
$39,899
Worth in national money
$39,355
State rank
27
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Colorado is 27 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $48,730. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Colorado reports figures for, this is number 365.
- No great distortion either way. Colorado costs about what the country costs, so from $48,730, take-home of $39,899 is worth roughly $39,355 in national money. The average comes to $58,910, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Colorado ranks 27 of 49 for private detectives and investigators at $48,730. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Colorado's occupational distribution, private detectives and investigators sits at 365 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 private detectives and investigators, whose median is $48,730, the adjusted figure of $39,355 differs little from $39,899 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $58,910 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Private Detectives and Investigators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $41,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $86,430 |
| This salary | $48,730 |
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 | $39,899 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,335 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,181 |
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 | $46,943 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,847 |
| 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 $48,730. The published range is $41,110 up to $86,430, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Colorado the take-home figure of $39,899, from $48,730, 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 365 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Colorado, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $39,355, the adjusted value of that $48,730 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 365 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for private detectives and investigators in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $41,110 to $86,430. 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 $39,899 from $48,730. 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 365 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $39,355 — the adjusted value of that $48,730 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 365 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $58,910 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $41,110 at the bottom tenth to $86,430 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $39,355 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Colorado adds its own income tax on top — which is why $39,899 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $58,910. 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 ($41,110) and the ninetieth ($86,430) 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 $39,355 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 $39,899 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.