Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators · SOC 51-8031
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators Salary in the Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area
Figures describe the Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area, a BLS-defined region outside metropolitan areas — not a single city or town.
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in the Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area earned a median of $65,440 per year ($31.46 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $47,080 at the 10th percentile to $95,330 at the 90th. BLS estimates 230 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in the Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area earn more than $65,440 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $56,510 and $81,600.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $47,080 | $56,510 | $65,440 | $81,600 | $95,330 |
| Hourly | $22.63 | $27.17 | $31.46 | $39.23 | $45.83 |
A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.
How this area compares
- Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area$65,440 median for Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area; middle half earns $56,510 to $81,600
- Coloradostate$74,200 median for Colorado; middle half earns $60,080 to $83,620
- United Statesnational$60,020 median for United States; middle half earns $48,040 to $74,780
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is −12% vs Colorado overall and +9% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Other metro areas in Colorado
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan areathis page$65,440 median for Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area; middle half earns $56,510 to $81,600
- $76,150 median for Denver metro area; middle half earns $61,080 to $83,050
- $74,270 median for Boulder metro area; middle half earns $63,510 to $79,950
- $73,920 median for Grand Junction metro area; middle half earns $65,370 to $80,690
- $73,330 median for Fort Collins metro area; middle half earns $61,270 to $82,580
- $65,970 median for Colorado Springs metro area; middle half earns $59,530 to $81,560
- $65,840 median for Greeley metro area; middle half earns $55,930 to $81,630
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
Keep exploring
Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:
Highest-paying metro areas for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operatorss · Highest-paying occupations in Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area
About this estimate
These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.
Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.