Can a K-12 Teacher afford to live in Denver?

Comfortable24% of take-home left to save — solid margin to save and invest.
Median salary (gross)
K-12 Teacher · Denver
$65,674
Income tax (~23% effective)
United States
– $15,208
Take-home pay
$4,206/mo
$50,466
Living costs (1 person)
$3,190/mo · derived
– $38,280
Savings potential
$1,016/mo · 24% of take-home
$12,186

Single professional, after-tax. Salary − tax − living costs = what you could save each year.

Full salary breakdown →Is this a good salary in Denver? →Compare Denver with another city →

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for K-12 Teacher, adjusted for Denver.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~23%). Official calculator.

• Living costs: derived from cost-of-living index for a single professional.

Planning estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026. Your situation will differ.