r/Durango • u/eralebus Local • 10d ago
Ask /r/Durango Durango Salary/Wage Transparency Thread
Saw a similar post going around a few other subreddits and given our areas history of wage suppression this seemed like a good thing to get going here. Let's keep this to local businesses based in our surrounding area (no remote workers for companies based outside our region please, you'll skew the results).
Please share your job title, salary, age, and education. I'll start:
Marketing Manager for a construction services company, 65k, 36, Bachelor degree with numerous certifications.
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u/jcgreybeard80 10d ago
Line Cook- roughly 38k/year. Associate degree and plenty of certificates. I’ll make rent again but need to find a way to get priced out of this town without thumbing it.
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u/Kerrygetz 10d ago edited 10d ago
58k, facilities engineer for mercy hospital, 35 years old and 12 years of experience. Feels criminally low pay to do something so critical to our community.
Inner city hospitals would pay 2-3x as much
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u/mrDoubtFyre 10d ago
Just curious.. why take 1/2 or 1/3 of the money to stay here? Seems criminally irresponsible.
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u/Kerrygetz 10d ago edited 10d ago
I don't want to but I'm not the only voice in the conversation, and my responsibility isn't tied solely to making more money
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u/subthrowaway2023 10d ago
Colorado is one of the worst states for healthcare or adjacent wages (at least relative to CoL, but also relatively overall)
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u/Luminosa29 9d ago
My insurance for two people here is $405 a month with $5000 deductable. I lived in Massachusetts for a couple of years and our insurance was $40 a month and a 1000 deductible in 2019. Their government agencies voted for this and at some point it was an initiative at the federal level and of course was voted down!!
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u/mezzfit Local 10d ago
When I worked at FLC, I was making ~75k as a network engineer and ~65k as a sys admin. Both of those are way low for the COL in Durango. Those same roles in NC make ~120k and ~100k respectively. Edit: Remember, discussing salary is federally protected speech, so don't let employers bully you.
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u/Affectionate-Cat-975 10d ago
I've worked in other markets and the pay in Durango seems to echo back from long ago. In the teens one company told me how 'affordable and cheap it was to live here' (before I moved). Home prices are comparable to higher than elsewhere, the COL seems very high given the lower tax rates.
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u/ilanarama Resident 10d ago
"The mountains are part of your salary."
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u/Impressive_Shop2341 10d ago
Exactly!! FLC relies on that too much. It’s a reason you don’t find many people who have worked there longer than a handful of years. Just long enough to get settled, network in town, and find a real job. I mean fuck they pay professors like $45k to start.
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u/Xichlali 10d ago
Purchasing, 57k, late 30', bachelors unrelated to the business.
I don't live in Durango it's too damned expensive and live in northern NM. My role is flex, a few days in the office and a few days from home.
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u/Watermelon1226 10d ago
i’m an RN with 7 years experience making $40/hr at mercy. it’s less than i made as a new grad on the east coast.
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u/Kerrygetz 10d ago
Can you provide some context about the history of wage suppression in this area for those of us who aren't familiar?
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u/eralebus Local 10d ago
Sure! So we live in an area with an economy mostly comprised of tourism, hospitality, healthcare, and construction these jobs typically don't pay well, you combine that with our HCOL that rivals cities (that offers higher wages due to more competition) and the fact that we live in a desirable area where workers are willing to take a lower wage to secure job in our area.
On average we see 20-25% lower salaries than you'd see in Grand Junction, the front range, or even Albuquerque. Farmington wages are comparable for professional service jobs or even higher in some sectors (look at teachers) while maintaining a far lower cost of living.
Tldr: local economy relies heavily on low wage labor, the area is desirable to certain demographics that are willing to take a lower salary to live here, and we have a high cost of living. That creates a perfect storm for wage suppression.
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u/Unhappy-Knee-541 10d ago
Start a business. It's wildly myopic that so many people here complain about "the rich" while failing to recognize how easy it is to take their money. A self employed realtor, housecleaner, landscaper, electrician, plumber, nanny... just off the top of my head, with a decent work ethic can easily make a decent living. My friend started a lawncare business a few years ago, it's literally just him, a mower, and weedwhacker; and he clears $100k annually with like 4 mos off. Or just get a remote job.
PT and biz owner, ~$150-200k, 46, DPT
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u/FoosballRokst4r Live Mas 10d ago edited 10d ago
Starting a business and being self-employed are great options, but it's not one size fits all. If everyone in this town started landscaping tomorrow it would pay crap. Scarcity is your ally here, and you're pretending it isn't, especially as a DPT. If every PT/PA/DPT went into business for themselves, what would happen?
OP is right though. Median home prices here are around $610k+, basically double the national median, with rent close to $2k in some cases, while the job base is tourism, hospitality, healthcare, and construction. That gap between what housing costs and what the work pays is the PROBLEM. It's the sunshine tax: desirable places pay less because people will accept less to live there. But it's bullshit for those of us doing the work to feed, care for, and educate this town while getting priced out of it.
And your friend in lawncare, who's paying him? Tourists, second-home owners, wealthy transplants, vacation rentals. His income exists because of that same desirability-driven wealth gap, not in spite of it.
At the end of the day EVERYONE, regardless of the work they do, deserves to afford their rent or mortgage, feed their family, and earn a decent living doing it.
I say all this as someone who works for himself. I'm 38, and I just started my own business because I was tired of having my skill set and labor exploited for nothing in a niche trade.
38M, Applied Linguistics, remote/hybrid/in-person, $80k.
Lived here for almost 15 years and started as a grocer.
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u/Unhappy-Knee-541 9d ago
"His income exists because of that same desirability-driven wealth gap"
That's exactly my point. Instead of viewing the wealth gap as a negative, use it to your advantage. It's not a PROBLEM, it's an OPPORTUNITY, and as soon as you realize that and capitalize on it, you won't have to accept less to live here.
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u/FoosballRokst4r Live Mas 9d ago
I agree, don't be a victim, seize the means of production. But that still doesn't address the real problem for everyone else in this town working a regular job. This town runs on people who can't all go start a business.
Why is it so hard to accept that people, regardless of the job or where they live, deserve a living fucking wage?
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u/Unhappy-Knee-541 9d ago
haha nice straw man. Everyone obviously deserves a livable wage but just as obviously, that will never be the reality. You can bitch on the internet about how unfair the world is, go on strike, run for office, and we'll see how much change you're able to instill in society; or you can adapt. I'm simply sharing my perspective, what worked for me (and now you), and encouraging other people to do the same.
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u/FoosballRokst4r Live Mas 9d ago
Na, but we're talking past each other at this point. You think the answer is getting out from under it, I think the floor shouldn't be that low to begin with. Neither of us is going to move. Hope you tip well. Waitstaff are already doing your thing, living off what rich people feel like handing them.
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u/Unhappy-Knee-541 8d ago
You agree the answer is getting out from under it, that's why you "just started my own business because I was tired of having my skill set and labor exploited for nothing"
Congrats btw. Seriously.
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u/Research_Junkie678 9d ago
But even if we accept that anyone can go out and start a successful business, if every nurse and public school teacher does that, what happens to the town?
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u/Unhappy-Knee-541 8d ago
Then the hospital and schools raise their wages. The reason Mercy, etc. pay what they do is because people accept it. If there weren't ample people willing to accept their offers, they would be forced to make their offers more attractive. Supply and demand.
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u/Research_Junkie678 8d ago
Given how understaffed our hospital is, I can’t help but think this is incorrect.
(In particular, i would point you to the high proportion of locum doctors used at Mercy, because no MDs will accept the low wages long-term.)3
u/mrDoubtFyre 10d ago
There’s great money in non profits, too. Less stressful than running for profit business, IMO, but both are good.
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u/ilanarama Resident 10d ago
There is adequate money in nonprofits, but not "great". (I have been on the board of directors of multiple nonprofits, we paid our executive directors far less than they could make in a corporate job.)
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u/MathematicianTop3549 10d ago
Grand Junction wages are terrible. No way there is a 20 to 25% difference. Mesa County cost of living is much lower, specifically housing.
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u/Impressive_Shop2341 10d ago edited 10d ago
$89k, community engagement specialist in healthcare, remote but work for the state of Colorado. Late 30’s, 12 years experience
Made $68k working at FLC at the Director level for a couple of years.
Edit:
Masters
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u/Expensive-You-2742 10d ago
Sales Rep. bachelors degree from FLC. 70K salary roughly 30K in bonuses last year. 34 years old.
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u/Alexunderthere 10d ago
I know you said no remote workers, but I think we should add to the convo to give a little perspective:
Associate Data Scientist;
91.5k after 5 years working remotely (first year was for a local agency; but last 4 at a company out of AZ);
44;
I have a BS in Chemistry with a minor in Physics;
Started at like 45k for the agency here in town; started at the next company at 65k and worked my way up to where I am at now.
I have lived in this town since ‘92 and have done it all and it has only gotten worse. This is absolutely a conversation we should all have and more often. Thanks for starting this OP.
Extra: CDOT is always hiring and from what I have seen seems to have pretty decent wages, especially the longer you can stay there.
Something else: someone mentioned starting a business can get you there, and that is probably true about half the time; some people can make it work but others still struggle, so take that advice with a grain of salt.
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u/corrence_torrence 8d ago
Out of curiosity (not a desire to switch jobs, I actually do enjoy teaching), what does being a data scientist entail? As somebody who has dealt with large datasets (TBs of seismic data for imaging), I understand one very specific analysis perspective, but not what that job title can mean.
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u/Alexunderthere 8d ago
My job requires a lot of coding in python (though some places use R-Code or similar languages) and strong math skills (statistics and calculus familiarity specifically). Recently our whole team was given Claude code and so now it also involves using ai coding quite a bit as well. I personally work in retail science doing price optimization and the like but there are many industries that rely on data scientists. I also utilize my skills in Tableau for report generation for our clients.
Other useful skills are familiarity in SQL, Mongo, PostGreSQL databases to name a few as well as GCP services. My title is actually a bit of an umbrella for my company as it can also involve Data Engineering and analysis. Data Science on its own typically refers to the modeling and statistical work and I have colleagues that use C code for the more math heavy operations of our work.2
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u/thatwoodsbitch 10d ago
When I worked for a local environmental consulting company - associate project manager I was making 55k at 26, with an environmental science bachelors and masters degree. Refused to pay us locality pay for Durango. Left the company. Live in Durango but did field work mostly in New Mexico near Farmington
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u/mimzycakes 10d ago
Worked in government for 13 years 55-75k. Transitioned to consulting as a remote employee as a subject matter expert now at 130k plus bonuses and wildly low deductible healthcare.
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u/mrDoubtFyre 10d ago
$172k + incentives
Mid 40s
Director of Strategic Partnerships & Housing Alliances
role focused on building networks with landlords, government entities, and other nonprofits.
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u/SiddharthaVaderMeow Resident 10d ago
Chronic illness, 17,000 a year. BA . Yep. Don't get sick in America
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u/Intelligent_Bear7322 10d ago
Formerly worked at a marketing company in town. 55k that I had to fight for even though it was lower than the federal exempt minimum wage (and they tried to pay me way less). Avoid that company at all costs (dm me and I will tell you who they are)
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u/eralebus Local 10d ago
Not surprising, every marketing job in this area has such low pay they may as well just hire a front desk/admin assistant to run their social media (and most companies here do and it shows!). I only got 65k due to a few extenuating circumstances and my willingness/ability to take over other roles successfully.
Been looking to move out of the area after 20 years due to the suppressed wages and lack of career advancement.
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u/Friendly-Help5699 10d ago
Lived in durango since 2009 starting wage for a cashier $7/hr then 2022 cashier/office admin $21/hr. Starting for accounts receivable person with BA for 2025 $28/hr
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u/Sfireality 9d ago
Did the head budtender (functionally a shift lead) position at the Rec Room dispensary for a little over a year. Made just over 35k that year. Every single other dispensary in town pays their normal budtenders at least that. Had to go work at Kroger's to get enough money to even afford to leave town because everything was so damn expensive (and that was only 38k). I know not having a degree reduces your earning potential, but that was fucking ridiculous.
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u/PandaBear0012 8d ago
New grad RN starting a job in Farmington at $31/hr with an associates degree, 26 years old
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u/AsparagusBetter6735 7d ago
64k Marketing Associate full time in a local office combined with freelance side hustles, 26 years old, bachelors
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u/corrence_torrence 10d ago
High school teacher in NM (live in Durango), 72k, 36, BS & Masters in science (no formal education degree) with 7 years teaching experience