Denver Data & Analytics Market

Beta

January 2026

This report analyzes 443 Data & Analytics job postings from 269+ companies tracked via direct employer career pages and job board aggregators. Our coverage skews toward tech-forward and scaling companies; large enterprises using enterprise hiring platforms may be underrepresented. Coverage varies by section and is noted throughout.

Market Context

1.January 2026 layoffs US tech layoffs reached their highest levels since 2009, creating a challenging hiring environment and increased competition for open roles.

2.Colorado pay transparency Colorado's pay transparency law requires salary disclosure, though only 27% of tracked roles include employer-provided ranges. This lower coverage reflects the exclusion of predicted or estimated salaries, limiting figures to directly disclosed data.

3.Remote work prevalence Denver employers maintain strong remote work offerings at 69%, reflecting lasting post-pandemic flexibility norms in the tech sector.

4.Enterprise hiring stability Large companies account for 58% of tracked postings, suggesting enterprise employers continue hiring despite broader market uncertainty.

5.Senior talent focus The 11:1 senior-to-junior ratio indicates employers prioritize experienced hires who can deliver immediate impact over building junior pipelines.

Key Takeaways: Job Seekers

1.0Leverage pay transparency 27% of tracked roles include employer-disclosed salary ranges. Where available, use these figures to benchmark expectations before negotiating.

1.1Target enterprise employers Large companies represent 58% of postings and typically offer competitive base salaries and benefits.

1.2Build Python and SQL proficiency These skills appear in 51% and 41% of roles respectively, forming the foundation of most data positions.

1.3Consider remote opportunities 69% remote availability means you can access Denver-based roles from anywhere, expanding your options.

1.4Explore Professional Services At 18% of postings, consulting and services firms offer varied project exposure for career development.

Key Takeaways: Hiring Managers

2.0Offer remote flexibility to compete With 69% of roles offering remote work, on-site requirements may limit your candidate pool considerably.

2.1Budget for senior talent Among tracked roles with disclosed ranges, median Senior IC compensation sits at $175K, with Staff/Principal roles at $217K. Competitive offers likely require market-rate packages at or above these levels.

2.2Consider junior pipelines The 11:1 senior-to-junior ratio suggests opportunity to build talent pipelines where others focus on experienced hires.

2.3Comply with pay transparency Colorado law requires salary disclosure, yet only 27% of tracked roles include employer-provided ranges. Clear compensation data in postings builds candidate trust and saves interview time.

Industry Distribution

63% of roles with industry data

Low

High

vs December 2025

Biggest Gainer

Fintech

+6pp

Biggest Decline

Data Infrastructure

-7pp

Professional Services leads at 18%, followed by Fintech at 12% and Healthcare at 10%. This distribution reflects Denver's diverse economy spanning consulting, financial technology, and healthcare innovation. Fintech gained 5 percentage points month-over-month, while Data Infrastructure declined 7 points.

Company Maturity

63% of roles with company age data

47%Growth Stage

Growth (6-15 yrs)47%

Mature (>15 yrs)45%

Young (<=5 yrs)8%

Growth-stage companies lead at 47%, with Mature companies close behind at 45% and Young startups at 8%. This balance suggests candidates can find opportunities across the company lifecycle, from equity-focused growth firms to stability-oriented established organizations.

Ownership Type

63% of roles with ownership data

54%Private

Private54%

Public39%

Subsidiary5%

Acquired2%

Private companies account for 54% of postings, with Public companies at 38% and Subsidiaries at 5%. The private-company majority means candidates should be prepared to evaluate equity packages and private company valuations as part of total compensation.

Employer Size Distribution

56% of roles with company size data

60%Enterprise

Enterprise (1,000+)60%

Scale-up (50-1,000)25%

Startup (<50)15%

Enterprise companies lead at 58%, with Scale-ups at 25% and Startups at 17%. Among tracked employers, larger companies typically offer higher base compensation while smaller firms may provide greater equity participation and broader role scope.

Employers Hiring for Data & Analytics Roles

Low

High

vs December 2025

Biggest Gainer

Humana

+1pp

New This Month

Google, PwC, EchoStar

Biggest Decline

Oracle

-2pp

Market interpretation: Hiring activity is broadly distributed among tracked employers, with top employers including Humana, Instacart, Oracle, Google, Deloitte, and PwC each showing modest posting volumes. New entrants this month include Humana, Google, and PwC.

Role Specialization

Low

High

vs December 2025

Biggest Gainer

Data Scientist

+4pp

Biggest Decline

Data Engineer

-2pp

ML Engineer leads at 24%, followed by Data Scientist at 20% and Data Engineer at 18%. Data Scientist gained 4 percentage points month-over-month, suggesting continued investment in modeling and analytics capabilities. Data Analyst roles at 16% emphasize business intelligence and stakeholder communication.

Seniority Distribution

Junior: 0-2 years | Mid-Level: 3-5 years | Senior: 6-10 years | Staff/Principal: 11+ years (IC track) | Director+: Management track

Low

High

vs December 2025

Biggest Gainer

Director+

+3pp

Biggest Decline

Staff/Principal

-4pp

Senior-to-Junior Ratio

12:1

Senior+ roles per Junior role

Entry Accessibility Rate

21%

Junior + Mid-Level roles combined

Senior roles lead at 50%, with Staff/Principal at 16% and Mid-Level at 15%. Director+ roles gained 3 percentage points month-over-month, while Staff/Principal declined 4 points. Junior positions at 7% remain limited, creating a challenging entry market for new professionals.

IC vs Management Track

86%IC

Individual Contributor86%

Management14%

Individual Contributors comprise 87% of roles versus 13% Management, reflecting the technical nature of data work. Management opportunities indicate ongoing team-building activity, with employers seeking leaders to guide data initiatives and build team structure.

Working Arrangement

Onsite: office full-time | Hybrid: mix of office and remote | Remote: work from anywhere | Flexible: employee chooses arrangement

99% of roles with known working arrangement

69%Remote

Remote69%

Flexible20%

Hybrid8%

Onsite3%

Remote positions lead at 69%, with Flexible at 20%, Hybrid at 7%, and Onsite at just 3%. Denver employers have embraced distributed work models, expanding the candidate pool nationally while allowing local talent to compete regardless of office proximity.

Compensation

27% of roles with disclosed salary ranges

Overall Distribution

25th Percentile

$146K

Median

$181K

75th Percentile

$225K

IQR (Spread)

$79K

Advertised Salary by Seniority

Advertised Salary by Role

Skills Demand

61% of roles with skills data

Low

High

Skills insight: Python (51%) and SQL (41%) remain foundational skills, with AWS (20%) leading cloud platforms. Modern data stack tools like Airflow (15%), Snowflake (13%), and dbt (12%) show strong demand. The Python + SQL skill pair appears in 34% of roles, confirming their combined importance.

Market Metrics

Market Structure

1.65

Jobs per employer

Average open roles per hiring company

Among tracked employers

10%

Top 5 concentration

Combined share of tracked postings by top 5 employers

Among tracked employers

24%

Top 15 concentration

Combined share of tracked postings by top 15 employers

Among tracked employers

Accessibility

12:1

Senior-to-Junior ratio

Senior+ roles for every junior role

Very competitive entry

21%

Entry accessibility

Roles open to candidates with <3 years experience

Competitive entry market

14%

Management opportunity

Roles on the people management track

IC-focused

Flexibility

69%

Remote availability

Roles offering fully remote work

Very high flexibility

Methodology

This report analyzes direct employer job postings for Data & Analytics roles in Denver during January 2026.

Data collection:

1.Over 400 roles from 280+ employers aggregated from multiple sources
2.Recruitment agency postings identified and excluded (8% of raw data)
3.Jobs deduplicated across sources to avoid double-counting

Classification:

1.Roles classified using an LLM-powered taxonomy
2.Subfamily, seniority, skills, and working arrangement extracted
3.Employer metadata enriched from company databases where available

Limitations:

1.Not a complete census of the market - some roles may not be captured
2.Skills analysis based on 269 roles with skill data (61% coverage)
3.Salary data available due to pay transparency law
4.Working arrangement based on 160 ATS-sourced roles (Adzuna excluded due to truncated descriptions)

Data coverage:

78%

Seniority coverage

Roles with seniority level classified

99%

Arrangement coverage

Roles with working arrangement known

61%

Skills coverage

Roles with skills extracted from description

68%

Employer metadata

Roles with enriched company data

About

This report was created by Rich Jacobs, Data product manager focused on hiring market intelligence. Want the data? rich@richjacobs.me