Colorado · SOC 17-2171
Petroleum Engineer Salary in Colorado
VerifiedPublished wages for petroleum engineers in Colorado, straight from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2024 release — the full percentile distribution, employment concentration, and metro detail.
Petroleum Engineers in Colorado earn a median of $167,540 per year ($168,220 mean), per BLS OEWS May 2024. The middle 50% earn $101,030–$209,650; the top 10% earn at least $239,200. That is 19% above the national median of $141,280, ranking Colorado #2 of 23 states that publish this occupation.
Median wage
Verified$167,540
+19% vs national
Top 10% earn
≥$239,200
BLS topcodes at this level
Employed in state
1,140
Reliability Moderate (13.2% RSE)
Petroleum Engineer pay distribution — Colorado vs national
Every figure below is a published BLS percentile. Bars share one scale, so the two distributions compare directly.
| Percentile | Annual wage | vs national |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentileentry / low | $84,730 | +7% |
| 25th percentile | $101,030 | -6% |
| Median50th percentile | $167,540 | +19% |
| 75th percentile | $209,650 | +10% |
| 90th percentiletop earners | ≥$239,200 | +5% |
| Meanaverage | $168,220 | +10% |
Where petroleum engineers earn most in Colorado
Metro areas in Colorado where BLS publishes a wage for SOC 17-2171. Metros BLS withholds are not listed.
| Metro area | Median | Top 10% | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| DenverDenver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $168,740 | ≥$239,200 | 790 |
Colorado engineering labor market
Concentration and pay level across all engineering occupations BLS publishes for this state.
Location quotient
3.21
Jobs per 1,000
0.40
State rank (pay)
#2 of 23
All engineering roles
$129,051
A location quotient of 3.21 means Colorado employs petroleum engineers at a meaningfully higher rate than the country as a whole — a genuine cluster for this discipline.
Frequently asked questions
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Source details
Published wage from BLS OEWS May 2024 for SOC 17-2171 (Petroleum Engineers), Colorado (state).
Benchmarks come from published government wage data via BLS OEWS. Local and emerging-role figures are labeled estimates. Full methodology →