What Computer Network Architects earn in Broomfield County, CO
The median pay for Computer Network Architects in Broomfield County, CO is $139,230 per year, which works out to $66.94 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area, the labor market that Broomfield County, CO belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $146,350, which is 5.1% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 10,260 people working in this occupation across the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Broomfield County, CO has roughly 76,304 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Computer Network Architects in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $94,740 a year ($45.55 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $206,270 or more ($99.17 an hour). That is a gap of $111,530 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $124,200 at the 25th percentile and $168,520 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.2 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Converted to an hourly wage, the median for Computer Network Architects in Broomfield County, CO is $66.94. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks adds up to $139,230, and the same salary is $11,603 a month before taxes or about $5,355 per biweekly pay period. After taxes the same job pays $48.38 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Computer Network Architects
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Computer Network Architects this way: "Design and implement computer and information networks, such as local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), intranets, extranets, and other data communications networks. Perform network modeling, analysis, and planning, including analysis of capacity needs for network infrastructures. May also design network and computer security measures. May research and recommend network and data communications hardware and software."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Adjust network sizes to meet volume or capacity demands"; "Communicate with customers, sales staff, or marketing staff to determine customer needs"; "Communicate with system users to ensure accounts are set up properly or to diagnose and solve operational problems"; "Coordinate installation of new equipment".
Job outlook for Computer Network Architects
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 181,800 jobs in 2025 to 195,800 in 2035, a change of +7.7%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 9,600 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 5.3% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. Work experience in a related occupation: 5 years or more. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $134,050 for this occupation; the Broomfield County, CO median of $139,230 is 3.9% above it.
How pay in Broomfield County, CO compares
Compared with the Colorado average
Pay for Computer Network Architects in Broomfield County, CO is in line with the statewide figure: $139,230 locally against an employment-weighted Colorado average of $139,202, a difference of only $28 (0.0%). Within Colorado, Broomfield County, CO already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
Nationally, Computer Network Architects earn an employment-weighted average of $138,975 across the contiguous United States, so $139,230 in Broomfield County, CO is essentially average. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Broomfield County, CO
Among the 554 occupations with published wages in Broomfield County, CO, Computer Network Architects ranks number 36 by median pay, ahead of about 94% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $203,340 a year, which is $64,110 more than the median for Computer Network Architects.
From gross pay to take-home pay
A salary of $139,230 does not arrive in full. We model a single filer with wage income only, the standard deduction and tax-year 2025 rules, and we keep the three tax layers apart: federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and state income tax. Together they take $38,599 a year, which leaves $100,631, or $8,386 a month.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $28 goes to taxes and $72 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 27.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $123,480. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 24% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $22,482, an effective 16.1% of gross pay, well below the 24% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $8,632 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $2,019. FICA totals $10,651, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Colorado
Colorado income tax on this salary is $5,466 a year, or 3.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 24% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $456 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Broomfield County, CO
IRS Statistics of Income data for Broomfield County, CO show an average adjusted gross income of $119,549 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 15.6% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 12.0%, compared with the 16.1% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Broomfield County, CO
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Broomfield County, CO: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $100,631 of take-home pay.
Rent
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Broomfield County, CO is $1,831 a month, or $21,972 a year. A two-bedroom costs $2,169 a month. For Computer Network Architects, a one-bedroom absorbs 21.8% of take-home pay and 15.8% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 2.5% of gross pay for Computer Network Architects in Broomfield County, CO. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Colorado residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,576 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $411, for $1,987 in total. Gasoline in Colorado averages $3.14 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,451.
What is left over
Add the four basics together and living costs come to $28,846 a year, 29% of take-home pay. That leaves $71,785 a year, or $5,982 a month, for savings, transportation beyond fuel, health care, debt and everything else. That margin equals 51.6% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Broomfield County, CO
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Broomfield County, CO: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Broomfield County, CO, set beside the Colorado and national medians.
Property taxes in Broomfield County, CO
Homeowners in Broomfield County, CO pay a median of $4,007 a year in real estate taxes, 54% above the Colorado median of $2,602 and 28% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $664,500, the median tax bill is 0.60% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Computer Network Architects median of $139,230, a tax bill of that size would equal 2.9% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Broomfield County, CO
Renters in Broomfield County, CO pay a median gross rent of $2,126 a month in the Census survey, 21% above the Colorado median of $1,761. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,831 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $664,500, 23% above the Colorado median of $539,400. Median household income is $123,874, 30% above the Colorado median of $95,470, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 17.7% of that income.
Commuting in Broomfield County, CO
Workers in Broomfield County, CO who travel to a workplace spend an average of 25.5 minutes each way, 1% above the Colorado average of 25.2. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.3 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 29.9% of workers in Broomfield County, CO work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Computer Network Architects afford to live in Broomfield County, CO?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $139,230 that ceiling is $3,481 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,831 is $1,650 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $35.21 an hour; the median for Computer Network Architects is $66.94, which is 90% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $48.38 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 8.7 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,169 a month means $1,085 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,958 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $80,743.
How fast you can save
At $5,982 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 2 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 4 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Computer Network Architects pay in Broomfield County, CO
What is the hourly wage for Computer Network Architects in Broomfield County, CO?
The median is $66.94 per hour, based on $139,230 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $45.55 at the 10th percentile to $99.17 at the 90th percentile.
What is the take-home pay for Computer Network Architects in Broomfield County, CO?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $139,230 becomes $100,631 a year. That is $8,386 a month, $3,870 every two weeks or $1,935 a week.
What percentage of pay goes to taxes for Computer Network Architects in Broomfield County, CO?
Total taxes are $38,599 a year, an effective rate of 27.7%: $22,482 federal income tax, $10,651 FICA and $5,466 Colorado income tax.
Is pay for Computer Network Architects in Broomfield County, CO above the Colorado average?
It is about the same. The local median of $139,230 is within 0.0% of the Colorado average of $139,202.
Is a one-bedroom rent affordable on the median Computer Network Architects salary in Broomfield County, CO?
A one-bedroom costs $1,831 a month against take-home pay of $8,386, which is 21.8% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,481 a month.
How much is left after rent, food and energy for Computer Network Architects in Broomfield County, CO?
About $5,982 a month ($71,785 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $28,846 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Broomfield County, CO at the 30% guideline?
$35.21 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $21,972 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Computer Network Architects is $66.94.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Colorado rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.