Colorado · Tax Senior Salary
Tax Senior Salary in Colorado
What tax seniors earn in Colorado — an estimated median and range built on the verified BLS OEWS May 2025 wage for accountants and auditors in the state.
Estimate · verified BLS Colorado wage ($97,030) → tax senior role multiplier · updated June 2026
How much does a Tax Senior make in Colorado?
Verified: the BLS OEWS May 2025 Colorado wage for Accountants & Auditors (SOC 13-2011). The tax senior figure is a modeled Estimate layered on it — BLS publishes no role-specific wage.
Tax Senior · estimated median
$104,800
Modeled median for a tax senior in Colorado, scaled from the verified BLS state wage.
Model your payColorado · verified BLS median
$97,030
The measured OEWS May 2025 median for accountants & auditors in Colorado — the base every estimate here is built on.
All Colorado payState rank (verified)
#7 of 51
Where Colorado ranks on the BLS-measured median for accountants & auditors.
Compare statesVerified baseline
The BLS measurement behind this page
BLS OEWS May 2025 reports wages for the broad occupation "Accountants and Auditors" (SOC 13-2011) in Colorado — not for tax seniors, and not for CPAs. These percentiles are direct measurements.
| Percentile | Annual | Hourly | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $60,760 | $29.21/hr | Entry-level / lower pay |
| 25th percentile | $74,900 | $36.01/hr | Below median |
| Median (50th) | $97,030 | $46.65/hr | Typical pay |
| 75th percentile | $127,270 | $61.19/hr | Experienced / senior |
| 90th percentile | $162,160 | $77.96/hr | Top earners |
The Colorado figures above, straight from the OEWS May 2025 release: a $97,030 median across 35,410 accountants and auditors employed in Colorado.
Every tax senior figure on this page — $104,800 median included. It is the verified state median scaled by this role’s multiplier (1.08×), because BLS publishes no tax senior-specific wage.
Comparison
Tax Senior pay in Colorado vs. national
Colorado's measured accountant median runs +16.0% versus the U.S. figure. The role rows are estimates built on those two verified benchmarks.
Tax Senior — Colorado
estimated median
$104,800
+8.0%Tax Senior — national
estimated median
$90,400
-6.8%All accountants — Colorado
BLS OEWS May 2025 · verified
$97,030
baseAll accountants — national
BLS OEWS May 2025 · verified
$83,680
-13.8%
The tax senior estimate sits +8.0% above the verified Colorado accountant median and +15.9% versus the national tax senior estimate. Verified rows are BLS measurements; role rows are modeled.
Colorado market
What shapes tax senior pay in Colorado
Colorado’s economy has grown quickly around the Denver metro, with strength in aerospace, energy, and corporate relocations. Pay runs near or above the national median, balanced against a cost of living that has risen with the state’s population.
The tax senior is the first review level on the public-accounting tax track: associates prepare the returns, the senior reviews them and owns the day-to-day client relationship. It sits above tax associate and below tax manager, who owns the client portfolio, the planning work, and the technical positions.
Local pay depends on the firm mix in the market: Big 4 and national-firm offices carry a brand premium over regional and local practices at the same title. Specialization separates seniors from one another — partnership, international, and SALT work commands more than general compliance — and busy-season hours are priced into every figure here.
Role ladder
Tax Senior vs. other roles in Colorado
Each level's multiplier applied to Colorado's verified BLS median. Estimates — the comparison is consistent because every row shares one measured base.
Estimated pay by role · Colorado
On Colorado's verified pay base, estimated pay spans $79,600 (Tax Associate) to $349,300 (Partner). Tax Senior sits at $104,800.
| Role / level | Low | Est. median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner | $349,300 | ||
| Senior Manager | $198,900 | ||
| Tax Manager | $150,400 | ||
| Tax Senior | $104,800 | ||
| Tax Associate | $79,600 |
Role multipliers applied to the BLS national median for Accountants & Auditors. The low–high band is a modeled typical range, not a guaranteed offer.
By experience
Tax Senior pay by experience in Colorado
Colorado's verified pay base scaled across experience bands at the tax senior level. Estimate.
| Experience | Est. median | CPA-licensed (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 years | $90,100 | $100,900 |
| 2–4 years | $100,600 | $112,700 |
| 5–7 years | $113,200 | $126,800 |
| 8–12 years | $125,800 | $140,900 |
| 13–20 years | $138,300 | $154,900 |
| 20+ years | $148,800 | $166,700 |
Experience multipliers on the area median; CPA column adds a modeled +12% credential premium.
By employer
Tax Senior pay by employer type in Colorado
Big 4, national, regional, and local firms vs. industry — at this role's level on the verified state pay base. Estimate.
| Employer type | Est. manager-level pay | vs. industry |
|---|---|---|
| Big 4 firm | $117,400 | +7.7% |
| National firm | $110,000 | +0.9% |
| Regional firm | $102,700 | -5.8% |
| Local firm | $96,400 | -11.6% |
| Industry / corporate | $109,000 | — |
Employer-type multipliers applied at a manager-level base on the BLS national median.
By metro
Tax Senior pay across Colorado metros
BLS measures 7 metro areas for accountants and auditors in Colorado. The measured median is verified; the tax senior column applies this role's multiplier to it.
| Metro area | Accountants medianBLS verified | Tax Senior medianEstimate |
|---|---|---|
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial | $100,020 | $108,000 |
| Boulder | $99,990 | $108,000 |
| Fort Collins-Loveland | $89,340 | $96,500 |
| Greeley | $87,240 | $94,200 |
| Colorado Springs | $85,000 | $91,800 |
| Pueblo | $78,340 | $84,600 |
| Grand Junction | $76,870 | $83,000 |
Metro medians are direct BLS OEWS May 2025 measurements. The tax senior column is modeled from them.
Peer markets
States that pay like Colorado
Ranked immediately around Colorado (#7 of 51) on the verified BLS accountant median — the closest comparables for a tax senior weighing a move.
Compare states
Tax Senior pay in other states
Where tax seniors are estimated to earn the most, built on each state's verified BLS median — Colorado ranks #7 of 51.
Tax Senior salary in Colorado — FAQ
- How much does a Tax Senior make in Colorado?
- A tax senior in Colorado earns an estimated $104,800 per year, typically ranging from $80,900 to $137,500+. That is +15.9% versus the national tax senior estimate of $90,400. The figure is a modeled estimate: BLS publishes no tax senior-specific wage, so we scale the BLS OEWS May 2025 verified Colorado median for accountants and auditors ($97,030) by this role's multiplier.
- What do BLS figures actually say about Colorado?
- BLS measures the broad occupation "Accountants and Auditors" (SOC 13-2011), not CPAs or tax seniors specifically. For Colorado, the verified OEWS May 2025 median is $97,030, with a 25th–75th percentile band of $74,900–$127,270 and 35,410 accountants and auditors employed in Colorado. Everything role-specific on this page is layered on top of that measurement and labeled Estimate.
- Is Colorado a good state to work as a Tax Senior?
- Colorado ranks #7 of 51 on the verified BLS median for accountants and auditors, running +16.0% versus the national median. Tax seniors are estimated to track that same gap. Weigh it against cost of living, the local mix of firms and industry employers, and remote roles that may pay to a national band.
- Does a Tax Senior in Colorado earn more than the average accountant?
- Yes — the tax senior estimate of $104,800 runs +8.0% versus the verified Colorado median for all accountants and auditors ($97,030). That gap is the modeled role premium, not a measured one: BLS reports one wage for the whole occupation, and senior and specialized roles sit above that broad-occupation midpoint.
- Which Colorado metro pays tax seniors the most?
- On the verified BLS metro medians for accountants and auditors, Denver-Aurora-Centennial leads Colorado at $100,020 — about +30.1% versus Grand Junction ($76,870). Tax Senior pay is estimated to follow the same metro ordering, since the role multiplier applies on top of each metro's measured base.
How to read these numbers
National, state, and metro pay comes straight from the federal wage measurement for accountants & auditors — direct and source-backed, not scaled from anything.
Role, experience, CPA-license, and employer figures are modeled on top of that measurement and labeled Estimate — the federal data does not break those out, so we never present them as measurements.
Add your Colorado tax senior salary
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