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Jobs in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area: pay, hiring and remote work
The Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area has 2,988 open job postings from 483 employers in our data. 63.7% list a pay range, the median posted pay is $144,000 a year, 9.8% are remote and 32.8% have been open more than 60 days (data as of October 2026).
What stands out
- A $144,000 posted salary in the Denver area buys about what $136,000 buys in the average US metro area, because prices here run 6% above the national average.
- Housing costs run 47% above the US average here (BEA regional price parities).
- 63.7% of open job postings list a pay range, 3rd of 99 metro areas.
- After adjusting for local prices, the typical worker's official median wage ($62,500) is worth $59,000 in average-US dollars, 9th of 99 metro areas.
- 9.8% of postings are remote, 7th highest of 99 metro areas.
The metro area's unemployment rate was 4.6% in 2026-08 (3.8% a year earlier) (BLS, not seasonally adjusted). Across Colorado, employers had 100,000 job openings in 2025-12, an openings rate of 3.3% (BLS JOLTS). Indeed's own measure of job postings in the metro area is 14.4% below its February 2020 level and 6.2% higher than a year ago (Indeed Hiring Lab, 2026-10-02).
City by city inside the metro area
| Place | Postings | Employers | Pay listed | Median posted pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver, CO | 2189 | 412 | 67.1% | $145,000 |
| Aurora, CO | 108 | 39 | 50.5% | $150,000 |
| Westminster, CO | 104 | 15 | 66.7% | $117,500 |
| Broomfield, CO | 92 | 15 | 86.2% | $167,000 |
| Littleton, CO | 91 | 22 | 58.7% | $129,500 |
| Centennial, CO | 75 | 19 | 43.1% | $140,000 |
| Golden, CO | 47 | 10 | 51.3% | $119,000 |
| Lakewood, CO | 43 | 16 | 46.9% | – |
| Greenwood Village, CO | 38 | 14 | 52.6% | – |
| Englewood, CO | 34 | 19 | 34.5% | – |
| Lone Tree, CO | 34 | 14 | n/a | – |
| Arvada, CO | 33 | 12 | 59.3% | – |
| Commerce City, CO | 33 | 9 | n/a | – |
| Castle Rock, CO | 21 | 11 | 57.9% | – |
| Parker, CO | 21 | 9 | n/a | – |
| Wheat Ridge, CO | 17 | 3 | n/a | – |
Places with at least 15 postings from 3 employers. Shading shows where median posted pay is higher. Pay figures need 8 postings with pay.
Posted pay vs official wages
| Kind of job | Median posted pay | Closest official occupation | Official median wage (BLS, May 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| People and recruiting | $115,000 23 postings | human resources specialists | $82,500 |
| Software developers | $172,500 139 postings | software developers | $137,500 |
| Accountants | $94,000 18 postings | accountants and auditors | $100,000 |
Official wages are the Bureau of Labor Statistics median annual wage for all workers in that occupation in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area. Posted pay is the middle of the ranges in open postings, so the two measure different things: pay for open jobs versus pay for everyone already employed.
Posted pay by kind of job
| Kind of job | Median posted pay | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|
| Legal and compliance | $186,500 | 50 |
| Data scientists | $178,000 | 10 |
| Security and IT | $177,000 | 55 |
| Software engineering | $172,500 | 68 |
| Software developers | $172,500 | 139 |
| Marketing | $159,000 | 51 |
| Data and analytics | $156,500 | 32 |
| Finance and accounting | $150,500 | 55 |
| Product and design | $149,000 | 40 |
| Customer support and success | $140,000 | 19 |
| Engineering (other) | $137,500 | 62 |
| Operations and logistics | $116,000 | 50 |
| Sales | $116,000 | 214 |
| People and recruiting | $115,000 | 23 |
| Accountants | $94,000 | 18 |
| Nursing and clinical care | $92,500 | 32 |
Who is hiring, by industry
| Industry | Postings |
|---|---|
| Software & Technology | 852 |
| Healthcare & Life Sciences | 476 |
| Manufacturing & Industrial | 264 |
| Real Estate & Construction | 247 |
| Consulting & Professional Services | 242 |
| Retail & E-commerce | 236 |
| Other | 200 |
| Energy & Utilities | 181 |
| Financial Services | 148 |
| Logistics & Transportation | 69 |
| Media & Entertainment | 33 |
| Government & Nonprofit | 15 |
Employers with the most openings
- Trueanomalyinc: 174 postings
- Crusoe: 106 postings
- Judihealth: 96 postings
- Gusto: 73 postings
- Greystar: 72 postings
Federal government hiring
361 federal job announcements open to the public list Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO, with a median posted salary range midpoint of $93,500. Agencies hiring most: Department of the Air Force Headquarters (118), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (29), Veterans Health Administration (25), Federal Aviation Administration (17), Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System (17). Source: USAJOBS, 2026-10-10.
What your paycheck buys here
Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area run 6% above the national average, and housing runs 47% above it. The official median wage for all jobs is $62,500, which is worth $59,000 in average-US dollars. The median posted pay of $144,000 is worth $136,000.
How it compares with similar-sized metro areas
| Metro area | Pay listed | Posted pay | Official wage | Prices | Paycheck power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 63.7% | $144,000 | $62,500 | 105.8 | $59,000 |
| San Diego | 50.9% | $137,500 | $58,500 | 111.9 | $52,500 |
| Riverside | 48.9% | $106,500 | $48,500 | 106.4 | $45,500 |
| Tampa | 19.3% | $115,000 | $49,000 | 100.9 | $48,500 |
| Orlando | 17.6% | $102,000 | $46,500 | 101.4 | $46,000 |
| Detroit | 19.1% | $145,000 | $52,000 | 100.3 | $52,000 |
| Charlotte | 24.5% | $127,500 | $50,000 | 97.3 | $51,500 |
Compare any metro areas side by side
Download this data
Free to use with credit: Second Summit, October 2026. Data (CSV) · Data (JSON) · paycheck power chart (SVG) · posted vs official chart (SVG) · prices chart (SVG) · industries chart (SVG) · biggest jobs chart (SVG)
Related pages
- State pages: Colorado
- Compare Denver with other metro areas
- Paycheck calculator: what a salary in Denver is worth elsewhere
- Mentioned in: October 2026 report
Where it ranks
A posting that lists several places counts once in the metro. Metro areas are the Census Bureau's 2023 definitions. This covers employers whose career pages we read, not every job in the area. Methodology · All metro areas (CSV)