Your Money, Now

A peek at Denverites paychecks and how they spend their hard-earned dough.

How We Did It

An explanation of our research methodology.

We scoured public records, published material, nonprofit tax forms, and media sources, but we didn't stop there—we ate at Hooters, trolled through hundreds of SEC filings, cornered vendors on the 16th Street Mall, and cold-called businesses to gather 215 salaries that were sometimes surprising (a Shotgun Willie's entertainer makes $80,000; a Colorado Ballet soloist only makes $25,040) and always dishy. Listed salaries are usually base income—sans year-end bonuses, tips, and other compensation—for 2007 or 2008, with the exception of information gleaned from nonprofits' 2007 tax forms (the most recent available at press time). Occasionally, we have withheld an individual's or company's name at their request. We also enlisted real estate and wealth management experts to answer readers' money questions, and convinced Denverites to expose their monthly spending habits—right down to their daily coffee—to financial planners for mini-money makeovers.