How are Colorado Vet 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.

What does the top of the Vet pay scale look like in Colorado?

The 90th percentile lands at $192,450. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $134,390.

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 Vet 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 $71,440 to $192,450. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

What are the limits of these Vet 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.

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.

Veterinarian Pay in Colorado: $123K Median + Purchasing Power (2026)

TL;DR

Colorado pays Vets a BLS median of $122,980 — the more useful number is $120,739, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
Quartile range $97,890 (bottom 25%) to $134,390 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $71,440 to $192,450.
Nominal: #23/51 · Real: #29/51 — ranking shifts by 6 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — Colorado

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$71,440	$70,138
P25 (lower quartile)	$97,890	$96,106
P50 (median)	$122,980	$120,739
P75 (upper quartile)	$134,390	$131,941
P90 (top tier)	$192,450	$188,943
Mean	$123,010	$120,769
Employment	2,380 Vets 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 (Vet)	$122,980	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$18,333	14.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$4,718	4.4% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$9,408	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$90,521	73.6% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$88,871	÷ (101.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.8% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $90,521 (73.6% of gross). After the 101.9 RPP, real take-home is $88,871.

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 $125,510 for Vets with mean pay of $140,270 and total employment of 80,630. Colorado sits at #23 on nominal pay and #29 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Colorado falls 6 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are Colorado Vet 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.
What does the top of the Vet pay scale look like in Colorado?: The 90th percentile lands at $192,450. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $134,390.
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 Vet 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 $71,440 to $192,450. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
What are the limits of these Vet 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.
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.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1131, 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 Vet 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.