Top state income tax rate
Top marginal rate on wages · State · Tax year 2026
Denver: #7 of 13 · lower is betterColorado taxes all income at a flat 4.4%. Washington, Texas and Tennessee have no wage income tax (Washington taxes capital gains).
Colorado taxes all income at one flat rate, 4.4%. That's lower than the top rate in Salt Lake City, Boston, Minneapolis, Portland, SF Bay Area and San Diego, and there are no brackets to climb. Property tax is where Denver pulls away: 0.47%, 2nd lowest of the 13 metros we compared.
Colorado taxes every dollar at the same rate, so a raise never pushes you into a higher bracket.
Effective rate means the median tax bill divided by the median home value in the core county, so it reflects what owners actually pay.
Colorado's combined state and average local sales tax is 7.89%, 6th lowest of 13.
Every metro here has a standout stat. Denver's advantage is that it rarely trails: it finishes in the top nine of 13 on 38 of 42 measures (90%), more than any other metro, and near the bottom on just 4.
This page is one stat in that record. The full scorecard has all 42.
Share of all 42 scored measures in each band, among the 13 metros. The number is the top-nine share. See every metro →