Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$79,043
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$26,347
25.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$77,966
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
$105,390
Kept after tax
$79,043
Worth in national money
$77,966
State rank
5
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Colorado's middle earner gets $105,390, putting the state 5 of 49 — about 4.23% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Colorado this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 74 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $105,390 the take-home is $79,043, which is worth about $77,966 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $108,180, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For social scientists and related workers, all other, Colorado sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $105,390, ranking 5 of 49 and running about 4.23% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Colorado publishes a median for, social scientists and related workers, all other sits 74 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Colorado's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for social scientists and related workers, all other on its $105,390 median: $79,043 retained after tax becomes $77,966 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $108,180 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $66,010 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $105,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $152,730 |
| This salary | $105,390 |
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 | $79,043 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $82,972 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,418 |
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 | $99,805 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,247 |
| 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 social scientists and related workers, all other in Colorado earn under $105,390 and half over. The published range runs $66,010 at the tenth percentile to $152,730 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $79,043 take-home in Colorado comes from $105,390. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 74 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Colorado, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $77,966, the adjusted value of that $105,390 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 74 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for social scientists and related workers, all other in Colorado, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $66,010 to $152,730; 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.
- Retained pay of $79,043, from $105,390, assumes a single Colorado filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 74 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 5 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $77,966 — the adjusted value of that $105,390 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 74 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $66,010 at the bottom tenth to $152,730 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 $77,966 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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, $79,043 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($66,010) and the ninetieth ($152,730) 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 $77,966 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 $79,043 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.