How much does a AI / ML Engineer make in Colorado?

The average AI / ML Engineer salary in Colorado is around $220,000 per year. After federal taxes, FICA, and Colorado state taxes, your estimated take-home pay is approximately $154,515 annually ($12,876/month).

What is the take-home pay for a AI / ML Engineer in Colorado?

On a $220,000 salary in Colorado, your take-home pay is approximately $154,515/year or $12,876/month. Federal tax: $41,704. State tax: $8,972. FICA: $0.00.

Is $220,000 a good AI / ML Engineer salary?

$220,000 is a strong salary for a AI / ML Engineer — above the national median. In Colorado, Growing tech, aerospace, and outdoor recreation industries.

How do Colorado taxes affect AI / ML Engineer salaries?

Colorado levies state income tax on top of federal taxes. Your estimated state tax on $220,000 is $8,972. Your total effective tax rate is approximately 29.8%.

What are the career growth prospects for AI / ML Engineers?

BLS projects 23% growth through 2032 for computer/info-research scientists (which AI/ML engineers fall under) — among the fastest-growing tech roles. Frontier-lab demand uniquely strong — OpenAI / Anthropic / xAI / Mistral / DeepMind hiring at premium tiers $300K-$700K base alone for senior MLE, plus equity 1.5x-3x base.. Related roles include: Machine Learning Engineer, AI Research Scientist, Applied Scientist, Deep Learning Engineer, NLP Engineer, Computer Vision Engineer, MLE, AI Engineer, Quant ML Engineer.

How can a AI / ML Engineer in Colorado reduce their tax bill?

Maximize your 401(k) contribution ($24,500 in 2026) to reduce taxable income. An HSA ($4,400 single / $8,750 family) adds further pre-tax savings. These strategies can save thousands annually — use our calculator to see your exact savings.

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AI / ML Engineer Salary in Colorado (2026)

The average AI / ML Engineer in Colorado earns around $220,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $154,515/year ($12,876/month).

Take-Home Pay Breakdown

Category	Amount
Annual Take-Home Pay	$154,515
Monthly Take-Home Pay	$12,876
Biweekly Take-Home Pay	$5,943
Hourly Take-Home Pay based on 2,080 hrs/year	$74/hr
Federal Tax	$41,704
State Tax	$8,972
FICA Taxes	$14,809
Effective Tax Rate total taxes ÷ gross salary	29.77%

Estimates only — not tax advice. · Full disclaimer →

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AI / ML Engineer Salary Ranges in Colorado

Entry Level (0–3 yrs)

$165,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Mid Level (3–7 yrs)

$220,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Senior Level (7+ yrs)

$380,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Not all AI / ML Engineers earn the same — not even close

Colorado's AI/ML engineering market is anchored by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Denver (Fortune 100 defense, ~14K Denver-area employees including substantial cleared satellite + space systems AI), Ball Aerospace Boulder (cleared aerospace AI), DaVita HQ Denver (Fortune 500 dialysis predictive analytics), UCHealth Anschutz (academic medical AI research), NCAR Boulder (National Center for Atmospheric Research, climate + earth science ML), plus the substantial Boulder + Denver Tech Center commercial AI scene (Trimble, Particle, Rachio).

Principal ML Engineer / Senior Scientist

$235,000–$395,000+ TC

Lockheed Space senior · Ball Aerospace senior · NCAR senior research · academic-industrial hybrid

Senior ML Engineer (Aerospace / Cleared)

$185,000–$295,000

Lockheed Space + Ball Aerospace · cleared satellite AI · TS/SCI plus polygraph premium $35-65K

Senior ML Engineer (Healthcare)

$155,000–$235,000

DaVita predictive dialysis · UCHealth Anschutz research · Children's Colorado · clinical AI premium

Senior ML Engineer (Telecom / Subscriber)

$145,000–$225,000

Charter Communications subscriber analytics · DISH Network · CenturyLink/Lumen · senior IC

Senior ML Engineer (Climate / Earth Science)

$135,000–$215,000

NCAR climate models · NOAA Boulder · UCAR · Earth science ML · academic-industrial hybrid

Senior MLOps Engineer

$135,000–$215,000

Production ML deployment · DaVita real-time scoring · Lockheed cleared pipelines · senior platform IC

ML Engineer (Mid-Level, 3-6 yrs)

$115,000–$175,000

Most common mid-career band · CU Boulder + CSM + UC Denver + USAFA pipeline · cross-industry

Junior ML Engineer (0-3 yrs)

$92,000–$135,000

Post-CU Boulder + CSM + UCCS MS/PhD · cleared aerospace + commercial entry band

Senior Quant Researcher

$185,000–$305,000

Janus Henderson systematic strategies · senior quantitative research · CU Boulder + CSM pipeline

Senior Space Systems ML (NORAD / Schriever)

$175,000–$285,000

NORAD + Space Force cleared AI · Schriever SFB + Peterson SFB · TS/SCI plus polygraph premium

Worth knowing: NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) Boulder is the distinctive feature most national AI/ML-career surveys understate for CO. NCAR (federally funded research center operated by UCAR university consortium, ~750 employees in Boulder) operates substantial climate + atmospheric + earth science ML research including the Cheyenne supercomputer (one of the country's most powerful systems for climate modeling). Senior NCAR research scientists clear $135-285K TC with academic-industrial hybrid comp structure. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Denver (Fortune 100, ~14K Denver-area employees, the country's largest space technology employer) operates substantial cleared satellite + space systems AI/ML — GPS III/IIIF satellite operations, orbit determination, sensor fusion, and signals intelligence all involve significant AI/ML. Senior cleared aerospace AI engineers with TS/SCI plus polygraph clearance routinely clear $185-295K TC. Ball Aerospace Boulder (cleared aerospace, post-2024 BAE Systems acquisition closing for ~$5.6B) adds parallel space + defense AI/ML. DaVita HQ Denver (Fortune 500 dialysis, ~25K global employees) operates substantial healthcare predictive analytics. CO's 4.25% flat tax (post-HB22-1015 phase-down) + TABOR refunds returning $400-1,200 in good years + 0.55% effective property tax (third-lowest in US per Prop 117 cap) creates favorable senior AI/ML tax structure substantially better than peer-state CA + IL + MA.

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AI / ML Engineer Salary in Other States

AI / ML Engineer Salary in California →AI / ML Engineer Salary in Texas →AI / ML Engineer Salary in New York →AI / ML Engineer Salary in Florida →AI / ML Engineer Salary in Washington →$220,000 salary in Colorado →

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