Contractor day rate benchmarks for tech roles in Denver. Median rates, typical ranges, and links to take-home calculators.
Median rates in 2026, before tax. Highest: Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at $125/hour. PayMetric Labs' own benchmarks; every role is listed below.
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
AI Infrastructure Engineer
$93/hour
$89/hour – $97/hour
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
AI / ML Engineer
$94/hour
$83/hour – $101/hour
Artificial Intelligence
AI Product Manager
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
AI Research Scientist
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Smart City & Deep Tech
AI Strategy & Solutions Architect
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Quant & FinTech
Algorithmic Trading Systems Engineer
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Data & Analytics
Analytics Engineer
$75/hour
$71/hour – $78/hour
Data AI & Analytics
Analytics Engineer (dbt / SQL)
$90/hour
Range: limited data
Software Engineering
Android Developer
$68/hour
$67/hour – $68/hour
Architecture & Integration
API & Integration Architect
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Software Engineering & Development
API Integrations Engineer
$69/hour
$65/hour – $72/hour
Cloud & Cybersecurity
Application Security (AppSec) Engineer
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Software Engineering & IT Leadership
Back-End Developer (Java / Go / Node.js)
$79/hour
$76/hour – $91/hour
Enterprise Systems, ERP & Specialized Tech
Blockchain / Smart Contract Engineer
$86/hour
$82/hour – $90/hour
Data Engineering & Analytics
Business Intelligence (BI) Developer
$66/hour
$63/hour – $68/hour
Data AI & Analytics
Business Intelligence (BI) Lead
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Enterprise Applications
Business Systems Analyst
$90/hour
Range: limited data
Cybersecurity & GRC
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
$115/hour
$111/hour – $123/hour
Product, Design & IT Leadership
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
$125/hour
$120/hour – $130/hour
Cloud Infrastructure
Cloud Architect (AWS / Azure / GCP)
$98/hour
$90/hour – $107/hour
Cybersecurity & Risk
Cloud Security Architect
$91/hour
$86/hour – $96/hour
Cloud & Cybersecurity
Cloud Security Specialist
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Quant & FinTech
Core Banking Systems Specialist (Temenos / Mambu)
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Cybersecurity & Risk
Cybersecurity Engineer / Specialist
$83/hour
$78/hour – $89/hour
Security & Risk
Cybersecurity Specialist / Architect
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Data & Analytics
Data Architect
$98/hour
$88/hour – $107/hour
Smart City & Deep Tech
Data Center Facilities Manager / Architect
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Data Science, Analytics & Engineering
Data Engineer (Databricks/Snowflake)
$90/hour
$82/hour – $96/hour
Data AI & Analytics
Data Governance & Privacy Lead
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Data & Analytics
Data Scientist
$90/hour
$83/hour – $96/hour
Cloud Infrastructure
Database Administrator (Oracle / PostgreSQL / NoSQL)
$75/hour
$68/hour – $83/hour
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Deep Learning Scientist
$101/hour
$96/hour – $105/hour
Infrastructure & Cloud
DevOps Engineer
$86/hour
$78/hour – $94/hour
Software Engineering & Development
Embedded Systems / IoT Engineer
$74/hour
$69/hour – $78/hour
Software Engineering
Engineering Manager
$101/hour
$96/hour – $108/hour
Software Engineering
Enterprise Architect
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Product, Design & IT Leadership
Enterprise IT Project Manager
$74/hour
$69/hour – $78/hour
Enterprise Applications
ERP/CRM Specialist
$74/hour
$69/hour – $78/hour
Enterprise Systems, ERP & Specialized Tech
FinTech Systems Integration Specialist
$79/hour
$76/hour – $83/hour
Quant & FinTech
Front-Office / Trading Floor Application Support
$90/hour
Range: limited data
Software Engineering & Development
Frontend Engineer (React/Vue/Next.js)
$69/hour
$68/hour – $70/hour
Software Engineering
Full-Stack Engineer (React / Next.js / TypeScript)
$75/hour
$72/hour – $89/hour
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Generative AI Specialist
$99/hour
$93/hour – $104/hour
Security & Risk
GRC Lead
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Cybersecurity
Identity Access Management Engineer
$82/hour
Range: limited data
Cybersecurity & Risk
Identity & Access Management (IAM) Engineer
$85/hour
$76/hour – $93/hour
Security & Risk
Incident Response Specialist
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Cybersecurity & GRC
Information Security Analyst
$68/hour
$64/hour – $71/hour
Infrastructure & Cloud
Infrastructure Engineer
$72/hour
$69/hour – $76/hour
Smart City & Deep Tech
IoT & Embedded Systems Engineer
$90/hour
Range: limited data
Product Delivery & Design
IT Program / Project Manager
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Cloud, Platform & Infrastructure
Kubernetes / Container Engineer
$79/hour
$76/hour – $83/hour
Data & Analytics
MLOps Engineer
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Software Engineering
Mobile Developer
$71/hour
$70/hour – $81/hour
Cloud Infrastructure
Network & Cloud Connectivity Engineer
$90/hour
Range: limited data
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
NLP Specialist
$102/hour
Range: limited data
FinTech & Payments
Payments Platform Engineer
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Cybersecurity & Risk
Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker
$82/hour
$76/hour – $92/hour
Infrastructure & Cloud
Platform Engineer
$86/hour
$79/hour – $101/hour
Software Engineering
Principal Software Engineer
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Product & Design
Product Owner
$70/hour
$68/hour – $73/hour
Software Engineering
QA Automation Engineer
$66/hour
$63/hour – $68/hour
Software, Platform & SaaS Engineering
QA Automation Lead
$90/hour
Range: limited data
Quant & FinTech
Quantitative Developer (C++ / Python)
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Enterprise Systems, ERP & Specialized Tech
Quantum / HPC Computing Specialist
$95/hour
$91/hour – $98/hour
Enterprise Systems
Salesforce / CRM Architect
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Enterprise Applications
Salesforce Developer / Architect
$78/hour
$73/hour – $82/hour
Enterprise Systems, ERP & Specialized Tech
SAP Functional / Technical Consultant
$81/hour
$74/hour – $87/hour
Enterprise Systems
SAP / Oracle ERP Cloud Consultant
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Design & IT Leadership
Scrum Master / Agile Coach
$66/hour
$63/hour – $68/hour
Security & Risk
Security Operations Center (SOC) Lead
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Cybersecurity & GRC
Security Operations (SecOps) Engineer
$73/hour
$70/hour – $76/hour
Cloud Infrastructure
Senior Cloud & Infrastructure Lead
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Software Engineering & Development
Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
$94/hour
$84/hour – $105/hour
Web3 Blockchain & Payments
Smart Contract / Solidity Developer
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Software Engineering
Software Architect
$91/hour
$87/hour – $94/hour
Software Engineering
Solutions Architect
$98/hour
$90/hour – $100/hour
Product, Design & Delivery
Technical Product Manager (TPM)
$94/hour
$85/hour – $98/hour
Design & IT Leadership
UI/UX Designer
$68/hour
$63/hour – $79/hour
Web3 Blockchain & Payments
Virtual Asset Payment / API Engineer
$102/hour
Range: limited data
Web3 Blockchain & Payments
Web3 Security Engineer
$115/hour
Range: limited data
Enterprise Systems, ERP & Specialized Tech
Workday / ERP Specialist
$75/hour
$68/hour – $83/hour
Local contractor market
Market overview
Denver is part of the United States contractor market, with 82 tracked tech roles in 2026. Rates reflect published market data for freelance and fixed-term contract engagements across software, data, cloud, and infrastructure disciplines.
Take-home and structure
Rates shown are gross, before income tax and social contributions. Your take-home depends on how you contract, through an agency or on your own account, and on your billable days. Use the calculator at the top of this page to convert a rate for the United States.
Denver contractor day rates cover a range of tech roles in 2026, spanning software engineering, data, cloud, and infrastructure disciplines. Rates vary by specialism and seniority. See the role-by-role breakdown above for specific median rates and typical ranges.
Denver sits within the United States contract market. Day rates can vary meaningfully by city, particularly between financial centres and regional hubs. Browse other city pages under the United States contract rates section to compare.
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) commands the highest contractor day rate in Denver in 2026, with a median of $125/hour. See the full role breakdown above for the complete list of contract rates by discipline.
Your take-home from any day rate in Denver depends on how you contract (through an agency or on your own account), how many days you bill, and the income tax and social contributions in the United States. Use the calculator linked at the top of this page to work it out for your rate.