Financial Analyst · Colorado · SOC 13-2051
Financial Analysts in Colorado: 2026 Salary, Real Wage, and Cost-Adjusted Pay
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-05.
TL;DR
- BLS reports Colorado Financial Analyst median pay at $99,200. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $97,392.
- Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
- Wage envelope: $59,160 (P10) to $195,790 (P90), with quartiles at $79,200 and $128,950.
- Financial Analyst ranking: #14 on the BLS table, #19 once cost of living is in.
Wage breakdown — Colorado
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $59,160 | $58,082 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $79,200 | $77,757 |
| P50 (median) | $99,200 | $97,392 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $128,950 | $126,600 |
| P90 (top tier) | $195,790 | $192,222 |
| Mean | $118,620 | $116,459 |
| Employment | 9,120 Financial Analysts 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 (Financial Analyst) | $99,200 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$13,071 | 13.2% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied |
| State income tax | −$3,672 | 4.4% flat (2026) |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$7,589 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $74,868 | 75.5% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $73,504 | ÷ (101.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the Colorado state-tax burden means for Financial Analyst take-home
Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.7% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $74,868 (75.5% of gross). After the 101.9 RPP, real take-home is $73,504.
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 $101,350 for Financial Analysts with mean pay of $116,490 and total employment of 340,580. Colorado sits at #14 on nominal pay and #19 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Colorado falls 5 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the real (cost-adjusted) Financial Analyst salary in Colorado?
- After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 101.9 for Colorado), the real-wage equivalent is $97,392 — what the $99,200 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $77,757 to $126,600.
- How are Colorado Financial Analyst 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.
- Is Colorado a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Financial Analysts?
- 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 Financial Analyst 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.
- Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Colorado?
- The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Colorado.
- 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.
- Does CFA charterholder status raise financial analyst pay in Colorado?
- CFA Institute survey data and industry comp reports typically show a 10-20% pay premium for CFA charterholders over non-charterholders at comparable seniority — though the causal share (vs. selection effect: higher-track analysts pursue CFA) is debated. In Colorado, the CFA premium is largest in equity research, portfolio management, and credit analysis roles where the credential is functionally required at the senior level; in IB and corporate finance the premium is smaller and substitutable with MBA. The 4-year, three-exam CFA path costs $3-5K in fees and 900-1,000 study hours, so the realized ROI in Colorado depends heavily on whether the role values the credential for promotion vs. just hiring.
Sources & methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 13-2051, 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.
Cross-comparison: see how Colorado Financial Analyst 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.