Registered Nurses salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
Official BLS OEWS May 2025 pay for Registered Nurses in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area — and the estimated take-home pay on the median wage under 2026 Colorado tax rules.
The figures
The median Registered Nurses in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area earns $101,130 a year ($48.62 an hour), according to the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (full citation in Sources). The middle half of Registered Nurses in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO earn between $85,390 and $109,760 a year. At the ends of the distribution, the lowest-paid 10 percent earn $81,210 or less and the top 10 percent earn $125,870 or more. BLS estimates 30,380 Registered Nurses jobs in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area — 18.875 of every 1,000 jobs in the area, a location quotient of 0.87 (below the national concentration). That is 0.9% of all Registered Nurses employment in the United States (3,379,720 jobs nationally). By employment, Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO is the #20 largest of the 25 covered metro areas for Registered Nurses. In aggregate, Registered Nurses in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO earn about $3.07 billion a year (BLS employment multiplied by the mean wage). At the mean wage, the engine's take-home is $76,095.20 a year, so the aggregate take-home of Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Registered Nurses is about $2.31 billion. BLS reports a relative standard error of 1.8% for this employment estimate. Ranked by median pay, Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO stands #13 of the 25 metro areas covered on this site for Registered Nurses. By employment, Registered Nurses is the #4 largest of the 30 covered occupations in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO. Placed against the national distribution for Registered Nurses, the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO median of $101,130 falls between the national median ($97,550) and the national 75th percentile ($112,350). Across all occupations, the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO median is $62,320 a year — Registered Nurses pay is 62.3% above the area's overall median.
Wages in detail
| Wage level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | $48.52 | $100,920 |
| 10th percentile | $39.04 | $81,210 |
| 25th percentile | $41.05 | $85,390 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $48.62 | $101,130 |
| 75th percentile | $52.77 | $109,760 |
| 90th percentile | $60.52 | $125,870 |
What the wage distribution says
The top 10 percent of Registered Nurses in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO earn 1.5 times what the bottom 10 percent earn ($125,870 against $81,210). The middle half spans $24,370 — from $85,390 to $109,760. Hourly, the 90th percentile ($60.52) is 1.55 times the 10th ($39.04). In the upper half of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO distribution, the 75th percentile wage of $109,760 takes home $81,925.18 and the 90th percentile wage of $125,870 takes home $92,468.32 — $10,543.14 more net for $16,110 more gross. Against the median take-home of $76,233.44, the top decile keeps 1.21 times as much. The mean wage of $100,920 sits 0.2% below the median: the average is held down by the lower end of the distribution in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO. Among the 30 covered occupations in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO, Registered Nurses ranks #4 by median pay. In the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO wage ladder of covered occupations, Registered Nurses sits between Project Management Specialists at $116,740 and Accountants and Auditors at $100,020. Registered Nurses accounts for 1.9% of all employment in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area. The average covered metro employs 55,027 Registered Nurses; Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO employs 0.6 times that.
Take-home pay on the median wage in Colorado
Single filer, no dependents, no pre-tax contributions, paid biweekly, a full year of W-2 wages in Colorado; city and local taxes are not included:
| Gross pay (annual) | $101,130.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $13,418.60 |
| Social Security (FICA) | $6,270.06 |
| Medicare (FICA) | $1,466.39 |
| Colorado income tax | $3,741.32 |
| Total deductions | $24,896.56 |
| Net pay (annual) | $76,233.44 |
| Net pay per biweekly paycheck | $2,932.06 |
| Total deduction rate | 24.62% of gross |
At the median, $76,233.44 of the $101,130 gross is kept ($2,932.06 per paycheck) — a deduction rate of 24.62%. The deduction rate moves with pay: 22.30% at the 10th percentile, 22.88% at the 25th percentile, 25.36% at the 75th percentile, 26.54% at the 90th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th percentile wages, annual take-home rises by $16,072.10 on a gross rise of $24,370.
The same engine at the other published points of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO wage distribution:
| Wage point | Net per year | Net per paycheck | Deduction rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile ($81,210) | $63,096.32 | $2,426.78 | 22.30% |
| 25th percentile ($85,390) | $65,853.08 | $2,532.81 | 22.88% |
| Median ($101,130) | $76,233.44 | $2,932.06 | 24.62% |
| 75th percentile ($109,760) | $81,925.18 | $3,150.97 | 25.36% |
| 90th percentile ($125,870) | $92,468.32 | $3,556.47 | 26.54% |
Across the published distribution, take-home pay runs from $63,096.32 a year at the 10th percentile to $92,468.32 at the 90th — a spread of $29,372.00 of net pay inside one occupation and one metro area.
For scale: across all occupations, the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO median wage of $62,320 takes home $50,220.38 a year ($1,931.55 per paycheck, deduction rate 19.42%). The Registered Nurses median take-home of $76,233.44 sits $26,013.06 (above that area-wide figure.
Run your own numbers
Your own withholding depends on your Form W-4, your benefits and your other income — run your exact figures through the calculator:
Against the national median
Nationally, the median Registered Nurses earns $97,550 a year ($46.90 an hour). The Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO median of $101,130 is $3,580 (3.7%) above the national median.
The means rank the area differently: $100,920 a year in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO against $101,420 nationally, a gap of $500 (0.5%).
Set against the whole local market, the Registered Nurses 90th percentile of $125,870 is 84% of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO all-occupations 90th percentile ($149,200), and its 10th percentile of $81,210 is 217% of the area-wide 10th ($37,490).
| Median annual | Median hourly | Mean annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $101,130 | $48.62 | $100,920 |
| United States | $97,550 | $46.90 | $101,420 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Registered Nurses in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
$101,130 a year ($48.62 an hour), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. The mean is $100,920 a year. Ranked by median pay, Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO stands #13 of the 25 covered metro areas for this occupation.
What is the take-home pay on $101,130 in Colorado?
About $76,233.44 a year ($2,932.06 per biweekly paycheck) for a single filer with no dependents and no pre-tax contributions, under 2026 rules — a total deduction rate of 24.62% of gross. At the 75th percentile wage of $109,760, take-home is $81,925.18.
How does pay in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO compare with the national median for Registered Nurses?
The Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO median of $101,130 is $3,580 (3.7%) above the national median of $97,550 a year. At the top of the distribution, the local 90th percentile is $125,870, against a national 90th percentile of $137,470.
How much do the top 10% of Registered Nurses earn in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
$125,870 a year or more ($60.52 an hour or more), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates.
What is the take-home pay at the 90th percentile for Registered Nurses in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
On $125,870 a year, the engine gives a take-home of $92,468.32 a year ($3,556.47 per biweekly paycheck) in Colorado under the same assumptions — a deduction rate of 26.54%.
How many Registered Nurses jobs are there in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
BLS estimates 30,380 Registered Nurses jobs in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area — 18.875 of every 1,000 jobs in the area.
How concentrated are Registered Nurses jobs in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
The location quotient is 0.87 — below the national concentration. A quotient of 1.0 means the occupation's share of local employment equals its national share.
How much does take-home pay vary for Registered Nurses in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
From $63,096.32 a year at the 10th percentile wage ($81,210) to $92,468.32 at the 90th ($125,870), under the same single-filer assumptions in Colorado.
What is the total wage bill for Registered Nurses in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
About $3.07 billion a year — the BLS employment estimate of 30,380 multiplied by the mean wage of $100,920.
Sources and method
Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026 — bls.gov/oes. OEWS figures are survey estimates for May 2025, not job offers. Take-home pay is computed by this site's paycheck engine with 2026 federal and state rules; the method, and what the engine does not model, is documented in the paycheck methodology guide. Estimates only — not tax advice.