Tool and Die Makers in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,345
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$12,456
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,645
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
$63,800
Kept after tax
$51,345
Worth in national money
$50,645
State rank
25
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Colorado sits in the middle of the pack for tool and die makers. The median is $63,800, ranking 25 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Colorado reports figures for, this is number 234.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $63,800 the take-home is $51,345, which is worth about $50,645 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $65,620, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Colorado occupies the middle band for tool and die makers: a median of $63,800, ranking 25 of 45. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Colorado's occupational distribution, tool and die makers sits at 234 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 tool and die makers on its $63,800 median: $51,345 retained after tax becomes $50,645 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $65,620 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Tool and Die Makers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $94,110 |
| This salary | $63,800 |
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 | $51,345 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,443 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,352 |
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 | $61,188 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,264 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $63,800 as a midpoint for Colorado, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $43,540 and the ninetieth is $94,110 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $51,345 take-home in Colorado comes from $63,800. 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 234 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Colorado, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $50,645, the adjusted value of that $63,800 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 234 of 491 in the state.
- The Colorado median of $63,800 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $43,540 to $94,110. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $51,345, from $63,800, 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 234 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 25 of 45 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Colorado, so $50,645 — the adjusted value of that $63,800 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 234 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $43,540 at the bottom tenth to $94,110 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 $50,645 — 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 $51,345 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 ($43,540) and the ninetieth ($94,110) 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 $50,645 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 $51,345 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.