Colorado state government salary

Colorado Salaries

Total state spending:
$30.3 billion (2014 estimate)
Colorado Budget and Finances
Colorado Public Pensions

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More Information:
Other State Salaries
Public Employee Salaries
Public Pensions
Online State Spending Resources

Colorado state government salaries for state employees were frozen for three years, from FY2010 to FY2012. The FY2012 state budget, which took effect on July 1, 2011, gave no raises to state employees, marking the third year in a row that employees salaries remained the same. For the second year in a row, state workers were required to contribute a greater portion of their paychecks to their retirement.[1]

According to 2008 U.S. Census data, the state of Colorado and local governments in the state employed a total of 320,650 people. Of those employees, 227,729 were full-time employees receiving net wages of $971,010,148 per month and 92,921 were part-time employees paid $113,456,631 per month. More than 56% of those employees, or 180,041 employees, were in education or higher education.[2]

In 2007-08, the average base salary for a state employee was $4,161 per month, which is equal to $24.01 per hour.[3]

In 2009, the Colorado Association of Public Employees brought a bill to Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Lois Tochtrop seeking to exempt the records of particular employees' pay, and only permit access to aggregated salary information. Tochtrop is sponsored the bill, known as Senate Bill 49.[4]

The Denver Post maintained a searchable database (dead link) of Colorado state employees, along with employees of many of the state universities. Under pressure from state employees, this was removed, and it is stated that obtaining this information is now very difficult.[5]

## Legislator salaries[edit]

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislators

Salary| Per diem
$40,242/year| For legislators residing within 50 miles of the capitol: $45/day. For legislators living more than 50 miles from the capitol: $219/day. Set by the legislature. Vouchered.

## State executive salaries[edit]

See also: Compensation of state executive officers
Office and current official | Salary

|

Governor of Colorado Jared Polis

$92,700

Lieutenant Governor of Colorado Dianne Primavera

Attorney General of Colorado Phil Weiser

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold

Colorado Commissioner of Insurance Michael Conway

Colorado Executive Director of Natural Resources Dan Gibbs

Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg

Colorado Controller Robert Jaros

$126,540

Chief of Staff to the Governor of Colorado Lisa Kaufmann

Colorado Treasurer Dave Young

$30,000/year

As of 2008, the salary of Colorado's governor ranked 48th among U.S. governors' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. governors was $128,735. The median salary earned by U.S. governors was $129,962.[6]

## Judicial salaries[edit]

See also: State court budgets and judicial salaries, 2012-2017
Chief Justice| Associate Justices

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$181,219

$182,671

As of 2010, the salary of Colorado's chief justice ranked 34th among U.S. chief justices' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. chief justices was $155,230. The median salary earned by U.S. chief justices was $151,284.[7]

As of 2010, the salary of Colorado's associate justices ranked 33rd among U.S. associate justices' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. associate justices was $151,142. The median salary earned by U.S. associate justices was $145,984.[7]

## State profile[edit]

Demographic data for Colorado

| Colorado| U.S.
Total population:| 5,448,819| 316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):| 103,642| 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:| 84.2%| 73.6%
Black/African American:| 4%| 12.6%
Asian:| 2.9%| 5.1%
Native American:| 0.9%| 0.8%
Pacific Islander:| 0.1%| 0.2%
Two or more:| 3.5%| 3%
Hispanic/Latino:| 21.1%| 17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:| 90.7%| 86.7%
College graduation rate:| 38.1%| 29.8%
Income
Median household income:| $60,629| $53,889
Persons below poverty level:| 13.5%| 11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Colorado.

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**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

### Presidential voting pattern[edit]

See also: Presidential voting trends in Colorado

Colorado voted for the Democratic candidate in four out of the six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

#### Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Colorado, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.[8]

#### Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Colorado had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Colorado coverage on Ballotpedia

* Elections in Colorado
* United States congressional delegations from Colorado
* Public policy in Colorado
* Influencers in Colorado
* Colorado fact checks
* More...

## See also[edit]

Colorado | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis

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Colorado State Executive Offices Colorado State Legislature Colorado Courts |  2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 Colorado elections: 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 |  Party control of state government State government trifectas State of the state addresses Partisan composition of governors

## External links[edit]

* Colorado state employment opportunities
* Colorado State University, Summary of Salary Increases
* Opinions vary on public employee benefits, Pueblo Chieftain, July 31, 2011
* University of Colorado salaries FY2011-2012
* Colorado state employee salary, eHow
* Eroded state employee compensation puts a drag on main street Colorado (dead link)
* Find the Data Colorado public employee salaries
* Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration
* Colorado WINS - State Employee Union

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ The Denver Post "Gov. Hickenlooper inks $18 billion Colorado budget, but some pieces still in play" May 7, 2011
2. ↑ Colorado Public Employment Data
3. ↑ Colorado State Workforce Demographics Report 2007-08
4. ↑ CORA change would mask employee pay, Politics West, January 8, 2009
5. ↑ "Colo. Salaries for Elected Officials. Want To Find Out What They Are? Good Luck.", Expat Exlawyer, March 12, 2010.
6. ↑ ‘‘The Council of State Governments,’’ “The Book of the States: 2008”
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `courts`
8. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

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