Boulder, CO

Across all occupations in the Boulder, CO metropolitan area, the median wage is $69,580 a year ($33.45 an hour) and the mean $91,760, May 2025. That median is +36% against the US median of $50,980 and +16% against Colorado's $59,800. BLS counts 192,390 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is surgeons, all other; the largest is software developers.

All occupations: Boulder, CO vs Colorado and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Boulder, CO area, Colorado and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Boulder, CO	Hourly	$18.07	$22.53	$33.45	$53.09	$81.68	$44.12	192,390
Boulder, CO	Annual	$37,590	$46,860	$69,580	$110,430	$169,890	$91,760	192,390
Colorado	Hourly	$17.48	$21.00	$28.75	$44.82	$65.54	$37.11	2,873,900
Colorado	Annual	$36,350	$43,680	$59,800	$93,220	$136,330	$77,190	2,873,900
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

414 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: Colorado. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Boulder, CO

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Surgeons, All Other	$465,940	$224.01	50
2	Physicians, All Other	$453,460	$218.01	110
3	Family Medicine Physicians	$297,070	$142.82	230
4	Chief Executives	$216,400	$104.04	110
5	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric	$211,600	$101.73	130
6	Natural Sciences Managers	$210,340	$101.13	310
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Colorado	$206,260	$99.16	1,220
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$203,420	$97.80	680
9	Sales Managers in Colorado	$200,970	$96.62	740
10	Marketing Managers	$199,570	$95.95	630
11	Financial Managers in Colorado	$192,970	$92.77	700
12	Dentists, General	$180,440	$86.75	140
13	Managers, All Other in Colorado	$179,090	$86.10	1,020
14	Training and Development Managers	$172,640	$83.00	40
15	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$169,400	$81.44	90
16	Human Resources Managers	$169,000	$81.25	260
17	Aerospace Engineers	$167,160	$80.36	800
18	Commercial Pilots	$165,780	*	40
19	Software Developers in Colorado	$164,560	$79.11	7,130
20	Pharmacists	$164,240	$78.96	250

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Boulder, CO

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Software Developers in Colorado	7,130	37.04	3.41	$164,560
2	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Colorado	4,880	25.38	1.02	$36,190
2	Retail Salespersons in Colorado	4,880	25.38	1.01	$38,700
4	Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Colorado	3,610	18.75	2.68	$94,040
5	Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in Colorado	3,230	16.78	2.08	$99,990
6	Registered Nurses in Colorado	3,140	16.32	0.75	$103,290
7	Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists in Colorado	3,130	16.27	2.81	$97,600
8	Cashiers in Colorado	3,100	16.12	0.81	$38,520
9	Project Management Specialists in Colorado	2,920	15.20	2.22	$122,040
10	General and Operations Managers in Colorado	2,750	14.29	0.63	$152,100
11	Waiters and Waitresses in Colorado	2,670	13.90	0.95	$49,870
12	Accountants and Auditors in Colorado	2,380	12.39	1.33	$99,990
13	Stockers and Order Fillers in Colorado	2,230	11.59	0.64	$45,010
14	Cooks, Restaurant in Colorado	2,190	11.41	1.26	$42,220
15	Customer Service Representatives in Colorado	2,070	10.77	0.65	$47,830
16	Computer Network Architects	2,000	10.41	9.00	$156,360
17	First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Colorado	1,910	9.93	1.07	$79,450
18	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Colorado	1,880	9.78	1.23	$84,660
19	Computer User Support Specialists in Colorado	1,710	8.88	1.93	$74,380
19	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Colorado	1,710	8.90	0.63	$42,440

Most concentrated occupations in Boulder, CO

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Atmospheric and Space Scientists	50.38	620	3.24	$121,870
2	Physicists	33.89	860	4.45	$104,580
3	Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians	15.47	220	1.12	*
4	Grounds Maintenance Workers, All Other	11.02	190	0.97	$31,490
5	Aerospace Engineers	9.56	800	4.17	$167,160
6	Biochemists and Biophysicists	9.34	390	2.03	$140,710
7	Computer Network Architects	9.00	2,000	10.41	$156,360
8	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric	7.71	130	0.70	$211,600
9	Materials Engineers	7.58	210	1.11	$151,940
10	Chemical Engineers	7.35	190	1.00	$125,800

Occupation groups in Boulder, CO

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$168,330	$182,750	12,020	62.49	0.87
Computer and Mathematical	$135,870	$145,970	16,610	86.34	2.55
Architecture and Engineering	$117,000	$126,890	8,960	46.59	2.77
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$103,310	$114,500	5,970	31.03	3.27
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$103,060	$125,180	10,280	53.42	0.85
Business and Financial Operations	$98,490	$108,220	19,860	103.24	1.52
Educational Instruction and Library	$78,500	$77,390	12,090	62.83	1.07
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$74,760	$83,240	3,360	17.49	1.33
Community and Social Service	$64,660	$70,850	3,330	17.29	1.01
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$63,850	$69,390	4,840	25.15	0.64
Construction and Extraction	$62,140	$66,810	3,810	19.83	0.48
Protective Service	$56,990	$67,860	2,720	14.12	0.58
Office and Administrative Support	$54,900	$60,150	17,540	91.15	0.80
Sales and Related	$51,550	$74,170	19,460	101.15	1.17
Production	$49,980	$57,920	8,920	46.38	0.84
Transportation and Material Moving	$47,980	$56,240	7,810	40.60	0.46
Healthcare Support	$47,300	$50,980	5,580	29.01	0.57
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$46,150	$50,140	270	1.41	0.50
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$45,910	$47,840	4,350	22.60	0.77
Personal Care and Service	$44,260	$50,090	5,490	28.52	1.36
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$39,000	$45,260	17,400	90.44	1.03
Legal	*	*	1,720	8.95	1.07

Every occupation in Colorado, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 414 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Boulder, CO estimates (area 14500).

*: Wage estimate not available.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Boulder, CO area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.