Special Education Teachers, Preschool in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,006
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$17,034
21.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,174
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
$78,040
Kept after tax
$61,006
Worth in national money
$60,174
State rank
9
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Colorado is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $78,040, which ranks 9 of 45 states with published figures. That is about 20.38% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Colorado reports figures for, this is number 157.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $78,040 the take-home is $61,006, which is worth about $60,174 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $77,160, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Colorado ranks 9 of 45 states publishing a median for special education teachers, preschool, at $78,040 — about 20.38% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In Colorado's occupational distribution, special education teachers, preschool sits at 157 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.
- Colorado's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for special education teachers, preschool on its $78,040 median: $61,006 retained after tax becomes $60,174 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $77,160 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Preschool
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $54,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $102,630 |
| This salary | $78,040 |
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 | $61,006 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,731 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,410 |
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 | $74,166 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,472 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $78,040 as a midpoint for Colorado, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $54,200 and the ninetieth is $102,630 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Colorado's $61,006, worked from $78,040. 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 157 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $60,174 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 157.
- The Colorado median of $78,040 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $54,200 to $102,630. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Colorado take-home of $61,006, on $78,040 for work ranking 157 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 157 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $60,174, worked from $78,040, 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 157 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $54,200 at the tenth percentile, $102,630 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Colorado costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $60,174 rather than its face figure.
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 $61,006 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 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($54,200 to $102,630) 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 $60,174 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 $61,006 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.