Denver, CO · Hiring under Colorado's pay-range law
Careerscape is a national staffing and recruiting agency. Our recruiters specialize by industry and fill aerospace, engineering, energy, health care, tech and finance roles for Denver and Front Range employers remotely, from Boulder to Colorado Springs.
By the numbers
Figures are for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro unless noted. BLS monthly figures for recent months are preliminary and not seasonally adjusted.
Colorado job-posting checklist
Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act has required pay in job postings since January 1, 2021, and amendments took effect January 1, 2024. Recruiters and candidates from other states often miss the details. This summary follows the state labor department's guidance. It is general information, not legal advice.
State the actual pay or a good-faith range with both a minimum and a maximum, say whether it is hourly, salary or piece rate, and describe other compensation such as bonuses or tips.
Describe benefits such as health care, retirement and paid time off. Minor perks like gym access can be left out. The state says open-ended wording such as "etc." does not comply.
Give a good-faith deadline and clear instructions on how to apply. "Open until filled" does not comply. "Accepted on an ongoing basis" is allowed only for evergreen roles that are always being filled.
A covered employer's remote job posting is covered even if it says Coloradans won't be considered. Until July 1, 2029, employers with no Colorado site and fewer than 15 Colorado employees don't have to tell Colorado staff about jobs performed only outside the state. That exemption does not cover remote jobs.
Employers must make reasonable efforts to announce each opening to all employees on the same calendar day, before a selection decision. Within 30 days of the hire, coworkers who will work regularly with the new person get a notice with the name, new title, former title if internal, and how to express interest in future roles.
Employers can't ask about an applicant's prior pay or set pay based on it, and can't retaliate against someone who declines to share it.
Penalties run from $500 to $10,000 per violation, and each non-compliant job counts separately. Posting the same job on several sites counts as one.
What's hiring
Metro job counts and 12-month changes are BLS figures for September 2026 (preliminary). Aerospace figures are statewide, from a 2026 Colorado Chamber Foundation report.
The fastest-growing large sector: 231,100 jobs, up 4.6% in a year. Aurora's Anschutz Medical Campus holds the University of Colorado's health sciences schools, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, Children's Hospital Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Regional VA hospital.
Colorado's aerospace industry supports more than 61,000 jobs, according to a 2026 Colorado Chamber Foundation report, which also names the state's thin manufacturing base as a drag on growth. Lockheed Martin Space has an estimated 8,000 people at its Waterton Canyon campus and said in October 2026 it plans up to 1,250 more jobs in Douglas and Jefferson counties. BAE Systems' Space & Mission Systems, the former Ball Aerospace, is based in Broomfield, and United Launch Alliance in Centennial.
115,100 jobs, up 3.0%, the strongest goods-producing line in the metro. BLS reports mining, logging and construction together for Denver.
Newmont and Ovintiv are headquartered in Denver. In Golden, the Department of Energy renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory the National Laboratory of the Rockies on December 1, 2025, with a broader applied-energy mission. Colorado School of Mines, also in Golden, runs petroleum engineering, mining engineering and space resources programs.
The largest private sector, with 317,700 jobs, up 1.2%. Engineering, consulting, legal, accounting and much of the region's contract tech work are counted here.
Information jobs fell 4.8% to 43,800, financial activities fell 3.2% to 112,600 and manufacturing fell 3.7% to 62,500. Experienced software, data and finance candidates may be easier to find than a year ago.
Pay benchmarks
Median annual wages in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro from the federal Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. Boulder and Colorado Springs are separate metros with different pay: software developers have a $164,560 median in Boulder and $134,280 in Colorado Springs, and aerospace engineers $167,160 and $151,980.
| Role | Median annual pay | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Petroleum engineers | $174,580 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), Denver-Aurora-Centennial MSA, May 2025 |
| Aerospace engineers | $156,190 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), Denver-Aurora-Centennial MSA, May 2025 |
| Software developers | $137,610 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), Denver-Aurora-Centennial MSA, May 2025 |
| Information security analysts | $136,670 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), Denver-Aurora-Centennial MSA, May 2025 |
| Construction managers | $128,850 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), Denver-Aurora-Centennial MSA, May 2025 |
| Registered nurses | $101,130 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), Denver-Aurora-Centennial MSA, May 2025 |
| Accountants and auditors | $100,020 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), Denver-Aurora-Centennial MSA, May 2025 |
| Electricians | $63,150 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), Denver-Aurora-Centennial MSA, May 2025 |
Medians cover all employers and experience levels. Because Colorado postings must show a range, candidates will compare yours against figures like these. For ranges by role and seniority, see the 2026 Salary Guide.
Where the work is
Most Front Range jobs sit along I-25, the spine of an urban corridor that runs about 200 miles from Pueblo to Cheyenne. Boulder and Colorado Springs are separate metro areas with their own labor markets, so check which one a role is in before comparing pay.
Corporate headquarters including Newmont and Ovintiv. Work done inside the City and County of Denver falls under the city's own minimum wage.
A 908-acre office park along I-25 in Denver and Greenwood Village, with about 35,000 workers in 2023 according to its owner, linked to downtown by light rail.
Home to the Anschutz Medical Campus, with its university hospital, children's hospital and VA hospital, and to Buckley Space Force Base.
United Launch Alliance is based in Centennial. Lockheed Martin Space runs its Waterton Canyon campus in Jefferson County and plans 450 new jobs at its Highlands Ranch site over four years.
BAE Systems' Space & Mission Systems is based in Broomfield. CU Boulder runs the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. In the Boulder metro, 28.7% of workers worked from home in 2024.
Colorado School of Mines and the National Laboratory of the Rockies, a pipeline for energy, mining and materials talent.
U.S. Space Command's provisional headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base is moving to Huntsville, Alabama. About 200 personnel were set to move by the end of 2026 and about half by 2028, with the command's operations center staying until the permanent Huntsville facility is finished.
For employers
Beyond the posting rules above. Current as of October 2026; general information, not legal advice.
Denver's minimum wage is $19.29 an hour in 2026, or $16.27 base pay for qualifying tipped food and beverage workers, for work done inside the City and County of Denver. The statewide minimum is $15.16.
In 2026, Colorado non-competes are enforceable only against workers earning at least $130,014 a year, and customer non-solicitation agreements at $78,008.40, and only to protect trade secrets.
Since July 1, 2024, the Job Application Fairness Act bars asking for age, date of birth, or school attendance or graduation dates on an initial application.
More than one in five Denver-area workers worked from home in 2024, against about one in eight nationally. Say up front whether a role is on-site, hybrid or remote. Classified program work happens in secured facilities, so those roles are rarely remote.
Space Command's move to Alabama will reshape cleared hiring in Colorado Springs over the next several years. Careerscape recruits cleared professionals, from Secret to TS/SCI with polygraph, for defense and space contractors. Request talent or see how our services work.
For job seekers
A Colorado posting tells you the pay, the benefits and the deadline before you apply. Here is how to put that to work.
Colorado postings must show pay and benefits. Compare the range with the metro medians above and the Careerscape 2026 Salary Guide before you negotiate.
Colorado employers can't ask for your salary history or set your pay from it, and can't hold it against you if you decline. Talk about the pay you want instead.
The same role can pay differently in Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs. A Boulder offer for software developers, for example, starts from a higher local median than one in Colorado Springs.
If you hold a clearance, put level, polygraph and status near the top of your resume, such as "Active TS/SCI with CI polygraph." Space and defense employers screen on it first.
Submit your resume or browse open jobs. It's free, and confidential if you're currently employed.
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