How are Colorado Dentist salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

How wide is the wage spread in Colorado?

P10 to P90 spans $64,440 to $233,650. 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 Dentists?

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.

What are the limits of these Dentist salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Does the BLS dentist median capture practice-owner income in Colorado?

Partially. BLS OEWS reports W-2 earnings, which captures dentist-owners who pay themselves a salary through the practice but excludes pass-through profit distributions (Schedule K-1 from S-corp or partnership), which can be the larger income component for established practice owners. In Colorado, this typically means the BLS-reported median understates total earnings for solo or small-group practice owners by 20-50% once distributions are netted in. Associate dentists employed by DSOs or owner-dentists are accurately represented by the BLS figure.

DSO chain vs solo private practice dentist pay in Colorado?

BLS does not split dental service organization (DSO: Heartland, Aspen, Pacific, Smile Brands) from solo private practice. In Colorado, DSO-employed dentists typically start at or above BLS median with production-bonus upside but cap below long-tenure solo owner total earnings. Solo private practice in Colorado pays below DSO at the associate level but compounds via ownership equity, equipment depreciation, and tax-deferred retirement contributions over a 10-20 year career. Specialist dentists (orthodontists, oral surgeons, endodontists, periodontists) in Colorado are tracked under different SOC codes (29-1022, 29-1023, 29-1024) and earn substantially above general-dentist medians.

Is dental school tuition ROI still positive in Colorado?

DDS/DMD programs run 4 years post-undergrad at $200K-$450K total tuition + $80K-$150K of foregone earnings. With Colorado dentist median in the BLS table on this page and average 2024 graduating debt around $310K, breakeven on the cash investment typically lands 8-15 years post-graduation depending on practice setting and loan-repayment strategy. Specialty residency (3+ extra years in ortho/oral surgery/endo) substantially extends time-to-breakeven but lifts terminal earning power — specialty dentists in Colorado commonly clear the BLS general-dentist P90 within their first 5 practice years.

Dentist Salary in Colorado (2026): $136K Median, BEA RPP-Adjusted

TL;DR

BLS reports Colorado Dentist median pay at $136,260. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $133,777.
Cost adjustment is small — neither an arbitrage state nor a high-cost penalty.
Quartile range $84,990 (bottom 25%) to $181,010 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $64,440 to $233,650.
Dentist ranking: #41 on the BLS table, #44 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Colorado

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$64,440	$63,266
P25 (lower quartile)	$84,990	$83,441
P50 (median)	$136,260	$133,777
P75 (upper quartile)	$181,010	$177,712
P90 (top tier)	$233,650	$229,392
Mean	$143,450	$140,836
Employment	2,330 Dentists 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 (Dentist)	$136,260	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$21,520	15.8% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$5,302	4.4% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$10,424	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$99,013	72.7% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$97,209	÷ (101.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.9% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $99,013 (72.7% of gross). After the 101.9 RPP, real take-home is $97,209.

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 $172,790 for Dentists with mean pay of $196,100 and total employment of 113,490. Colorado sits at #41 on nominal pay and #44 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Colorado falls 3 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are Colorado Dentist salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
How wide is the wage spread in Colorado?: P10 to P90 spans $64,440 to $233,650. 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 Dentists?: 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.
What are the limits of these Dentist salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Does the BLS dentist median capture practice-owner income in Colorado?: Partially. BLS OEWS reports W-2 earnings, which captures dentist-owners who pay themselves a salary through the practice but excludes pass-through profit distributions (Schedule K-1 from S-corp or partnership), which can be the larger income component for established practice owners. In Colorado, this typically means the BLS-reported median understates total earnings for solo or small-group practice owners by 20-50% once distributions are netted in. Associate dentists employed by DSOs or owner-dentists are accurately represented by the BLS figure.
DSO chain vs solo private practice dentist pay in Colorado?: BLS does not split dental service organization (DSO: Heartland, Aspen, Pacific, Smile Brands) from solo private practice. In Colorado, DSO-employed dentists typically start at or above BLS median with production-bonus upside but cap below long-tenure solo owner total earnings. Solo private practice in Colorado pays below DSO at the associate level but compounds via ownership equity, equipment depreciation, and tax-deferred retirement contributions over a 10-20 year career. Specialist dentists (orthodontists, oral surgeons, endodontists, periodontists) in Colorado are tracked under different SOC codes (29-1022, 29-1023, 29-1024) and earn substantially above general-dentist medians.
Is dental school tuition ROI still positive in Colorado?: DDS/DMD programs run 4 years post-undergrad at $200K-$450K total tuition + $80K-$150K of foregone earnings. With Colorado dentist median in the BLS table on this page and average 2024 graduating debt around $310K, breakeven on the cash investment typically lands 8-15 years post-graduation depending on practice setting and loan-repayment strategy. Specialty residency (3+ extra years in ortho/oral surgery/endo) substantially extends time-to-breakeven but lifts terminal earning power — specialty dentists in Colorado commonly clear the BLS general-dentist P90 within their first 5 practice years.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1021, 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 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how Colorado Dentist 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.