How much does an RN make in Colorado?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $96,520 for RNs in Colorado as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $81,790 and the 75th-percentile is $104,370.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) RN salary in Colorado?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 101.9 for Colorado), the real-wage equivalent is $94,761 — what the $96,520 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $80,300 to $102,468.

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.

What are the limits of these RN 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.

Travel RN vs staff RN in Colorado — which earns more on a real basis?

Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Colorado, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

How Much Do Registered Nurses Make in Colorado? $97K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Registered Nurses in Colorado earn a BLS median of $96,520, with real take-home of $94,761 after BEA RPP adjustment.
P25-P75 spread runs $81,790 to $104,370; P10 floor $76,050, P90 ceiling $121,710.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
Nominal: #17/51 · Real: #13/51 — ranking shifts by 4 positions after RPP.
Multistate license: Colorado participates in the NLC compact, useful for travel-RN flexibility.

Wage breakdown — Colorado

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$76,050	$74,664
P25 (lower quartile)	$81,790	$80,300
P50 (median)	$96,520	$94,761
P75 (upper quartile)	$104,370	$102,468
P90 (top tier)	$121,710	$119,492
Mean	$95,470	$93,730
Employment	54,510 RNs 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 (RN)	$96,520	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$12,481	12.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,554	4.4% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,384	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$73,101	75.7% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$71,769	÷ (101.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.7% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $73,101 (75.7% of gross). After the 101.9 RPP, real take-home is $71,769.

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 $93,600 for RNs with mean pay of $98,430 and total employment of 3,282,010. Colorado sits at #17 on nominal pay and #13 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Colorado climbs 4 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Licensure — Colorado (NLC)

Colorado participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), with effective participation since 2017. RNs holding a multistate license issued by another Compact state may practice in Colorado without applying for a separate Colorado license. Colorado-issued multistate licenses are reciprocally recognized in 36 other Compact states (37 jurisdictions total in 2026), eliminating the per-state endorsement workflow ($100–$500 + 4–16 week processing) for travel and per-diem RN work.

Colorado has been a Compact participant for 9 years as of 2026, putting it among the long-tenured members where the Compact pathway is the established norm at most employers and travel agencies.

Source: NCSBN compact implementation tracker — re-synced quarterly. See NLC reciprocity hub for the cross-state matrix and changelog for status changes.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an RN make in Colorado?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $96,520 for RNs in Colorado as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $81,790 and the 75th-percentile is $104,370.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) RN salary in Colorado?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 101.9 for Colorado), the real-wage equivalent is $94,761 — what the $96,520 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $80,300 to $102,468.
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.
What are the limits of these RN 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.
Travel RN vs staff RN in Colorado — which earns more on a real basis?: Travel RN gross weekly is usually higher, but the real comparison nets out housing stipends (which are tax-advantaged but state-dependent), per-diem premiums, and the lack of staff-side benefits and pension accrual. In Colorado, the real-wage gap is narrower than the headline contract numbers suggest.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1141, 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 RN 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.