Tree Trimmers and Pruners in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,919
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$9,471
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,348
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
$51,390
Kept after tax
$41,919
Worth in national money
$41,348
State rank
19
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Colorado sits in the middle of the pack for tree trimmers and pruners. The median is $51,390, ranking 19 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Tree trimmers and pruners ranks 334 among 491 occupations Colorado publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $51,390 the take-home is $41,919, which is worth about $41,348 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $54,020, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Colorado occupies the middle band for tree trimmers and pruners: a median of $51,390, ranking 19 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 334 of 491 in Colorado places tree trimmers and pruners in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Colorado's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for tree trimmers and pruners on its $51,390 median: $41,919 retained after tax becomes $41,348 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $54,020 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Tree Trimmers and Pruners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,660 |
| This salary | $51,390 |
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 | $41,919 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,472 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,388 |
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 | $49,457 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,097 |
| 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 tree trimmers and pruners in Colorado earn under $51,390 and half over. The published range runs $47,600 at the tenth percentile to $61,660 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $41,919 take-home in Colorado comes from $51,390. 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 334 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $41,348 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 334.
- Figures are distribution medians for tree trimmers and pruners in Colorado, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,600 to $61,660; 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 $41,919, from $51,390, 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 334 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 19 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,348, worked from $51,390, 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 334 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $54,020, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $47,600 at the bottom tenth to $61,660 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $41,348 — 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 $41,919.
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 $54,020. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,600 to $61,660) 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 $41,348 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 $41,919 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.