Why is the BEA RPP for Colorado different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Colorado's overall index of 101.9 reflects rents 130.5, services 86.8, and goods 99.2.

Where does Colorado rank for Accountant pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Colorado ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

How wide is the wage spread in Colorado?

P10 to P90 spans $59,540 to $155,590. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Is Colorado a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Accountants?

No — Colorado's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Public accounting vs industry vs government in Colorado — which pays more?

Public accounting (Big 4 / regional firm audit + tax) typically pays 10-15% below industry corporate-accountant pay at the staff/senior level, then crosses over at manager and above as billable-hour leverage compounds. Government accountants in {state} (state DOR, federal IRS/GAO, municipal) usually trail both private paths on base pay but lead on pension and job security. Industry controller/CFO-track roles in {state} push toward the BLS P75-P90 band.

Is busy season ($35K of overtime) included in Colorado accountant BLS figures?

Yes — BLS OES uses annualized W-2 earnings, so January-April busy-season overtime is rolled into the median. The high P90 in public-accounting-heavy Colorado markets reflects busy-season hours plus year-end bonuses. Industry accountants typically have flatter hours and a lower P90 ceiling but more predictable totals.

Colorado Accountant Salary: BLS $90K Median, Real $88K (2026)

TL;DR

BLS reports Colorado Accountant median pay at $90,030. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $88,389.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $59,540 · P25 $71,290 · P75 $119,470 · P90 $155,590.
Accountant ranking: #8 on the BLS table, #6 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Colorado

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$59,540	$58,455
P25 (lower quartile)	$71,290	$69,991
P50 (median)	$90,030	$88,389
P75 (upper quartile)	$119,470	$117,293
P90 (top tier)	$155,590	$152,755
Mean	$99,220	$97,412
Employment	35,580 Accountants in Colorado

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Colorado index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	101.9
Goods	99.2
Services	86.8
Rents	130.5

Colorado's overall RPP (101.9) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Colorado (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Accountant)	$90,030	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$11,054	12.3% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,268	4.4% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,887	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$68,821	76.4% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$67,567	÷ (101.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Colorado state-tax burden means for Accountant take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.6% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $68,821 (76.4% of gross). After the 101.9 RPP, real take-home is $67,567.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $81,680 for Accountants with mean pay of $93,520 and total employment of 1,448,290. Colorado sits at #8 on nominal pay and #6 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Colorado climbs 2 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the BEA RPP for Colorado different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Colorado's overall index of 101.9 reflects rents 130.5, services 86.8, and goods 99.2.
Where does Colorado rank for Accountant pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Colorado ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
How wide is the wage spread in Colorado?: P10 to P90 spans $59,540 to $155,590. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is Colorado a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Accountants?: No — Colorado's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Public accounting vs industry vs government in Colorado — which pays more?: Public accounting (Big 4 / regional firm audit + tax) typically pays 10-15% below industry corporate-accountant pay at the staff/senior level, then crosses over at manager and above as billable-hour leverage compounds. Government accountants in {state} (state DOR, federal IRS/GAO, municipal) usually trail both private paths on base pay but lead on pension and job security. Industry controller/CFO-track roles in {state} push toward the BLS P75-P90 band.
Is busy season ($35K of overtime) included in Colorado accountant BLS figures?: Yes — BLS OES uses annualized W-2 earnings, so January-April busy-season overtime is rolled into the median. The high P90 in public-accounting-heavy Colorado markets reflects busy-season hours plus year-end bonuses. Industry accountants typically have flatter hours and a lower P90 ceiling but more predictable totals.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 13-2011, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Colorado Accountant pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.