Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$57,616
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$15,284
21.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,831
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
$72,900
Kept after tax
$57,616
Worth in national money
$56,831
State rank
23
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Colorado sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $72,900, ranking 23 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Colorado, this sits in the middle: 192 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $72,900 the take-home is $57,616, which is worth about $56,831 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $73,330, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Colorado occupies the middle band for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education: a median of $72,900, ranking 23 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education ranks 192 of 491 occupations in Colorado by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Colorado's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education on its $72,900 median: $57,616 retained after tax becomes $56,831 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $73,330 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,970 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $72,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $101,300 |
| This salary | $72,900 |
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 | $57,616 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,115 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,032 |
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 | $69,347 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,882 |
| 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 $72,900. The published range is $48,970 up to $101,300, 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 $57,616, worked from $72,900. 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 192 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $56,831 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 192.
- Reported values are medians; for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,970 to $101,300. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Colorado take-home of $57,616, on $72,900 for work ranking 192 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 192 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $56,831, worked from $72,900, 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 192 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $48,970 and the top tenth $101,300, 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 $56,831 — 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 $57,616.
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 ($48,970 to $101,300) 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 $56,831 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 $57,616 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.