Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,473
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$15,727
21.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,676
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
$74,200
Kept after tax
$58,473
Worth in national money
$57,676
State rank
7
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Colorado's middle earner gets $74,200, putting the state 7 of 50 — about 23.63% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Colorado reports figures for, this is number 182.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $74,200, tax leaves $58,473, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $57,676 in comparable terms. Here the average runs under the middle, at $72,670.
- For water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators, Colorado sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $74,200, ranking 7 of 50 and running about 23.63% 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.
- In Colorado's occupational distribution, water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators sits at 182 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.
- Because Colorado sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators — median $74,200 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $58,473 retained, $57,676 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $72,670 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $95,730 |
| This salary | $74,200 |
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 | $58,473 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,030 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,128 |
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 | $70,566 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,083 |
| 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 $74,200. The published range is $50,130 up to $95,730, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $58,473 take-home in Colorado comes from $74,200. 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 182 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $57,676 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 182.
- Reported values are medians; for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $50,130 to $95,730. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $58,473, from $74,200, 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 182 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 7 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $57,676, worked from $74,200, 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 182 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $50,130 and the top tenth $95,730, 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 $57,676 — 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 $58,473.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($50,130 to $95,730) 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 $57,676 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 $58,473 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.