Is $50,000 a Good Salary in Denver, CO? (2026)

No: $50,000 in Denver is well below typical pay - about the 8th percentile across 19 occupations, $3,405 a month take-home.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS), Census ACS rents, IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 · Updated October 2026

Verdict
well below typical
Local pay percentile
~8th
Monthly take-home
$3,405
Median rent share
52%

No, $50,000 is well below typical pay in Denver, CO. Across the 19 common occupations we track in Denver, it sits at about the 8th percentile of local pay.

After federal tax, FICA and Colorado state tax of $1,492 a year, a single filer earning $50,000 keeps about $40,863 a year, or $3,405 a month. Median rent in Denver is $1,770 a month, which takes 52% of that take-home pay.

“Typical” means the middle of local pay, not a national average. We compute where $50,000 lands in each tracked occupation’s published BLS wage range (10th to 90th percentiles) and take the median position across the 19 occupations - the same interpolation our salary percentile calculator uses. Median pay across those occupations is about $87,300 in Denver (middle half between $65,500 and $100,800).

How this verdict is computed

"Typical" means the middle of local pay, not a national average. We compute where $50,000 lands in each tracked occupation's published BLS wage range (10th to 90th percentiles) and take the median position across the 19 occupations - the same interpolation our salary percentile calculator uses. Median pay across those occupations is about $87,300 in Denver (middle half between $65,500 and $100,800).

Take-home assumes a single filer with the standard deduction and no pretax deductions: federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, and Colorado state income tax. Rent is the metro's median gross rent (Census ACS); the rent share compares it to monthly take-home pay.

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Frequently Asked Questions

No, it is well below typical pay: $50,000 sits at about the 8th percentile across the 19 occupations we track in Denver, where median pay across occupations is about $87,300.

A single filer with the standard deduction keeps about $40,863 a year ($3,405 a month) after federal tax, FICA and Colorado state tax of $1,492 a year.

Median pay across the 19 occupations we track is about $87,300 a year, with the middle half of occupation medians between $65,500 and $100,800.