Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education Salary in Colorado

At $63,410 a year, the median for elementary school teachers, except special education in Colorado is close to the national median of $63,970 (−1%); Colorado ranks 25th of 51 states by median. Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education earn 6% more than the median across all occupations in Colorado ($59,800). Among neighbouring states, Utah and New Mexico pay more (up to $74,810 in Utah) and Nebraska, Wyoming, Arizona, Kansas and Oklahoma pay less (down to $48,200 in Oklahoma). Colorado employs 24,860 elementary school teachers, except special education, 8.65 per 1,000 jobs, the 22nd largest count of any state. A location quotient of 0.97 is close to the national share.

Colorado vs the United States, May 2025

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Colorado and nationally, May 2025
AreaBasisPercentile wageMeanEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
10th25thMedian75th90th
ColoradoHourly******24,8608.650.97
Annual$48,410$59,020$63,410$80,160$98,950$70,110
United StatesHourly******1,388,390––
Annual$47,960$57,710$63,970$81,450$104,340$72,650
$0$25k$50k$75k$100k10th10th: $48,410$48,41025th25th: $59,020$59,020MedianMedian: $63,410$63,41075th75th: $80,160$80,16090th90th: $98,950$98,950US median
Colorado annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.
Rank by median
25th of 51 states
Rank by employment
22nd of 51 states
Location quotient
0.97
Jobs per 1,000
8.65

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Colorado's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in Colorado

7 metropolitan areas and 3 nonmetropolitan areas touching Colorado publish a row for elementary school teachers, except special education, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

AreaMedian hourlyMedian annual10th pct (annual)90th pct (annual)EmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
Boulder, CO*$80,640$60,420$125,4201,6308.450.95
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO*$76,910$50,460$101,44012,0307.480.84
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO*$62,930$52,710$96,2701,3708.100.91
Pueblo, CO*$62,000$47,940$79,82064010.371.16
Colorado Springs, CO*$61,140$47,470$77,6203,64011.521.29
Greeley, CO*$60,160$48,740$79,3501,37011.441.28
Grand Junction, CO*$52,230$49,930$81,4406109.081.02
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area*$62,590$47,620$84,4501,2109.131.02
Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area*$60,390$42,150$76,4001,12010.331.16
Eastern and Southern Colorado nonmetropolitan area*$49,140$39,890$72,4201,24017.671.98

Neighbouring states

StateMedian hourlyMedian annualEmploymentLocation quotient
Colorado*$63,41024,8600.97
Arizona*$56,59024,2400.84
Kansas*$56,45014,3501.12
Nebraska*$62,3808,7100.95
New Mexico*$74,5506,2100.80
Oklahoma*$48,20018,5001.21
Utah*$74,81014,8200.96
Wyoming*$61,1502,6001.04

See the national page for Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education (every state ranked) and the Colorado wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Colorado estimates.

*
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.