Mechanical Engineer Salary in Colorado (2026)
The average Mechanical Engineer in Colorado earns around $130,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $95,109/year ($7,926/month).
Take-Home Pay Breakdown
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
Annual Take-Home Pay | $95,109 |
Monthly Take-Home Pay | $7,926 |
Biweekly Take-Home Pay | $3,658 |
Hourly Take-Home Pay based on 2,080 hrs/year | $46/hr |
Federal Tax | $19,934 |
State Tax | $5,012 |
FICA Taxes | $9,945 |
Effective Tax Rate total taxes ÷ gross salary | 26.84% |
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Mechanical Engineer Salary Ranges in Colorado
Not all Mechanical Engineers earn the same — not even close
Colorado's mechanical engineering market is anchored by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Denver (Fortune 100, ~14K Denver-area employees including substantial spacecraft + propulsion mechanical engineering), Ball Aerospace Boulder (cleared aerospace + space), Sierra Nevada Corp Centennial (Dream Chaser space plane + cleared programs), Northrop Grumman Aurora, the Front Range data center cluster mechanical engineering, UCHealth hospital mechanical, plus Colorado School of Mines (Golden, the country's top-ranked mining + applied science engineering program).
Principal Mechanical Engineer (Aerospace / Cleared)
$215,000–$365,000+ TC
Lockheed Space senior · Ball Aerospace senior · Sierra Nevada senior · TS/SCI plus polygraph premium
Senior Mechanical Engineer (Spacecraft)
$165,000–$265,000
Lockheed satellite mechanical · Ball Aerospace · Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser · spacecraft systems specialty
Senior Mechanical Engineer (Defense / Cleared)
$155,000–$245,000
Lockheed Martin Defense · Northrop Grumman Aurora · cleared classified programs · TS/SCI premium
Senior Mechanical Engineer (HVAC / Building)
$135,000–$210,000
UCHealth Anschutz hospital mechanical · Front Range data center · altitude-HVAC specialty premium
Senior Mechanical Engineer (Mining / Industrial)
$140,000–$215,000
Newmont Mining + Cleveland-Cliffs · CO mining industry mechanical · senior IC
Senior Mechanical Engineer (Energy / Renewable)
$130,000–$200,000
Xcel Energy + Vestas Wind Systems Denver · large-scale solar + wind mechanical engineering
Mechanical Engineer (Mid-Level, 5-8 yrs)
$102,000–$148,000
PE-licensed · post-CU Boulder + CSM Mines + UC Denver · transitioning to senior band
Mechanical Engineer (EIT, 0-5 yrs)
$78,000–$108,000
Pre-PE band · CU Boulder + CSM + UC Denver + USAFA + UCCS new grads · entry band
Senior Test Engineer (Spacecraft / Aerospace)
$155,000–$245,000
Lockheed Space spacecraft testing · Ball Aerospace · senior validation engineering specialty
Mechanical Project Manager
$125,000–$195,000
Construction mechanical PM · Front Range data center mechanical PM specialty premium
Worth knowing: Lockheed Martin Space Systems Denver is the structural depth feature most national mechanical engineering surveys understate for CO. Lockheed Space (Fortune 100, ~14K Denver-area employees at Waterton Canyon + Deer Creek campuses, the country's largest space technology employer by employee count) operates substantial spacecraft mechanical engineering across GPS III/IIIF satellites, Orion crew capsule (the deep-space spacecraft), Sentinel ICBM modernization, and classified space systems. Senior Lockheed Space spacecraft mechanical engineers with TS/SCI plus polygraph clearance routinely clear $185-345K TC. Ball Aerospace Boulder (cleared aerospace, post-2024 BAE Systems acquisition closing for ~$5.6B) operates spacecraft instrumentation + sensor mechanical engineering — Ball's NASA James Webb Space Telescope optical bench work plus ongoing classified satellite work drives substantial mechanical engineering depth. Sierra Nevada Corp Centennial (Dream Chaser space plane + cleared aerospace programs) adds parallel cleared mechanical engineering. Colorado School of Mines (Golden, ~7K students, the country's top-ranked mining + applied science engineering program) feeds substantial CO + national mining + mechanical engineering pipeline. CO's 4.25% flat tax + TABOR refunds + 0.55% effective property tax creates favorable senior ME tax structure substantially better than peer-state CA + IL at senior comp.
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More on Colorado
Salaries by profession, top-paying roles by industry, and an economic breakdown for Colorado in 2026.
Tax brackets, standard deductions, and take-home estimates for Colorado in 2026.
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