The highest paying job in Colorado is Airline Pilot, with a median salary of $211,860 per year. Below is the complete ranking of the top 25 careers in CO based on 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024
Ranked by median annual salary. Click any job to see the full salary breakdown including percentile data and state-by-state comparisons.
| Rank | Occupation | Median Salary | Mean Salary | Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airline Pilot | $211,860 | $254,770 | 5,840 |
| 2 | Nurse Anesthetists | $207,120 | $205,020 | 630 |
| 3 | Pediatricians, General | $205,310 | $219,260 | 400 |
| 4 | Chief Executives | $194,810 | $280,170 | N/A |
| 5 | Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | $191,640 | $185,070 | 620 |
| 6 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $180,240 | $194,260 | 12,450 |
| 7 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $176,610 | $190,260 | 4,320 |
| 8 | Financial Manager | $174,840 | $198,380 | 11,460 |
| 9 | Sales Manager | $174,840 | $195,210 | 9,520 |
| 10 | Podiatrists | $174,660 | $193,290 | 140 |
| 11 | Marketing Manager | $173,390 | $187,810 | 6,230 |
| 12 | Air Traffic Controllers | $172,310 | $153,010 | 780 |
| 13 | Lawyer | $167,970 | $208,710 | 17,160 |
| 14 | Petroleum Engineers | $167,540 | $168,220 | 1,140 |
| 15 | Managers, All Other | $164,010 | $172,050 | 13,710 |
| 16 | Purchasing Managers | $163,610 | $193,240 | 1,250 |
| 17 | Computer Hardware Engineers | $162,920 | $159,920 | 2,920 |
| 18 | Compensation and Benefits Managers | $159,570 | $170,350 | 220 |
| 19 | Public Relations Managers | $157,150 | $164,660 | N/A |
| 20 | Human Resources Manager | $154,500 | $166,110 | N/A |
| 21 | Pharmacist | $151,680 | $145,690 | 5,130 |
| 22 | Aerospace Engineers | $151,570 | $154,710 | 4,020 |
| 23 | Database Architects | $151,460 | $152,940 | 2,140 |
| 24 | Medical Dosimetrists | $151,290 | $147,310 | 40 |
| 25 | Administrative Services Managers | $145,650 | $160,560 | 2,220 |
Average Salary in Colorado · All Colorado Jobs · Build Your Resume →
The top-paying careers in Colorado are concentrated in Management fields. The #1 job, Airline Pilot, pays $137,524 more than the state average of $74,335 per year.
Among the top 25, the minimum median salary is $145,650, meaning all jobs on this list pay significantly above the national average.
See how Colorado's top salaries compare to other states.
Rankings are based on median annual salary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024 estimates. We use median rather than mean salary because it better represents typical earnings and is less affected by outliers.
Only occupations with state-level data published by BLS are included. Some specialized or rare occupations may not have data for every state. For full methodology details, see our Methodology page.