What Project Management Specialists earn in Douglas County, CO
According to the latest federal wage data for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area, the median pay for Project Management Specialists in Douglas County, CO is $116,740 a year, or $56.12 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $86,201 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Douglas County, CO.
The mean wage is $120,640, which is 3.3% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 20,710 people working in this occupation across the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Douglas County, CO has roughly 377,150 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Project Management Specialists in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $71,600 a year ($34.42 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $172,060 or more ($82.72 an hour). That is a gap of $100,460 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $89,060 at the 25th percentile and $137,710 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.4 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $56.12 an hour or $116,740 a year at the median for Douglas County, CO. Before any deductions, that is $9,728 a month, $4,490 every two weeks and $2,245 each week. After taxes the same job pays $41.44 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Douglas County, CO compares
Compared with the Colorado average
A worker in this occupation in Douglas County, CO earns $2,753 more than the Colorado average of $113,987, a premium of 2.4%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,753 before tax and roughly $2,033 after tax. Within Colorado, Douglas County, CO already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Project Management Specialists is $104,422 across the contiguous United States. At $116,740, Douglas County, CO pays $12,318 more, which is 11.8% above that benchmark. 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 Douglas County, CO
Among the 554 occupations with published wages in Douglas County, CO, Project Management Specialists ranks number 76 by median pay, ahead of about 86% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Lawyers at $177,380 a year, which is $60,640 more than the median for Project Management Specialists.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Project Management Specialists earning the Douglas County, CO median of $116,740, they add up to $30,539. The result is $86,201 of take-home pay a year ($7,183 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $26 goes to taxes and $74 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 26.2%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $100,990. 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 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $17,132, an effective 14.7% of gross pay, well below the 22% 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 $7,238 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,693. FICA totals $8,931, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Colorado
Colorado income tax on this salary is $4,477 a year, or 3.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 26% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $373 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 Douglas County, CO
IRS Statistics of Income data for Douglas County, CO show an average adjusted gross income of $148,619 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 16.5% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 11.5%, compared with the 14.7% 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 Douglas County, CO
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Douglas County, CO: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $86,201 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Douglas County, CO, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,831 a month ($21,972 a year), and at $2,169 for two bedrooms. For Project Management Specialists, a one-bedroom absorbs 25.5% of take-home pay and 18.8% 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 2.9% of gross pay for Project Management Specialists in Douglas 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
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $28,846 a year in Douglas County, CO. Subtract that from $86,201 of take-home pay and $57,355 remains, which is $4,780 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 49.1% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Project Management Specialists afford to live in Douglas 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 $116,740 that ceiling is $2,919 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,831 is $1,088 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 Project Management Specialists is $56.12, which is 59% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $41.44 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 10.2 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 $66,313.
How fast you can save
At $4,780 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 3 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 6 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Project Management Specialists pay in Douglas County, CO
How much do Project Management Specialists make per hour in Douglas County, CO?
The median is $56.12 per hour, based on $116,740 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $34.42 at the 10th percentile to $82.72 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Project Management Specialists take home after taxes in Douglas County, CO?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $116,740 becomes $86,201 a year. That is $7,183 a month, $3,315 every two weeks or $1,658 a week.
How much tax do Project Management Specialists pay in Douglas County, CO?
Total taxes are $30,539 a year, an effective rate of 26.2%: $17,132 federal income tax, $8,931 FICA and $4,477 Colorado income tax.
Do Project Management Specialists earn more in Douglas County, CO than elsewhere in Colorado?
Yes. The local median of $116,740 is +2.4% versus the Colorado average of $113,987, a difference of $2,753 a year.
Can Project Management Specialists afford a one-bedroom apartment in Douglas County, CO?
A one-bedroom costs $1,831 a month against take-home pay of $7,183, which is 25.5% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $2,919 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Project Management Specialists in Douglas County, CO?
About $4,780 a month ($57,355 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 Douglas 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 Project Management Specialists is $56.12.
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.