How many households in Colorado spend too much on housing?
Data updated July 26, 2024
About 794K in 2022. That’s 33.9% of all households in Colorado. These households spent at least 30% of their total income on rent or mortgage payments and utilities. The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings.
Showing data for
In 2022,
794K
households were cost burdened
In 2022,
33.9%
of households were cost burdened
The number of cost-burdened households in Colorado increased from 691 thousand in 2012 to 794 thousand in 2022. Cost burden considers both household income and housing costs, so factors affecting either of these can influence the number of burdened households. For example:
- Changes in wages, employment status, or the number of people in a household can impact household income.
- Changes in housing supply/demand or interest rates can affect costs.
A growing or declining US population can also affect the number of cost-burdened households. To counteract this, USAFacts analyzed the percentages of cost-burdened households rather than just the number. This prevents such population changes from skewing the data.
In 2022, 33.9% of Colorado households were cost burdened, higher than the national average of 32.5%.
In Colorado, 33.9% of households were cost burdened in 2022.
Share of households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing
Cost burden varies for renters and homeowners. For example, during the Great Recession (2007–2009) unemployment rose, millions of homes entered foreclosure, and rental demand increased. By 2010, cost burden had increased among renters while staying flat among homeowner households.
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Since 2012, the proportion of cost-burdened owner households in Colorado has decreased from 26.9% to 24.6% in 2022. Meanwhile, cost burden increased from 51.0% to 53.2% among renter households.
In Colorado, 53.2% of renter and 24.6% of owner households were cost burdened in 2022.
Share of households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing
The metro areas with the highest and lowest share of cost-burdened owner households were the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California metro area at 33.8% (highest) and Morgantown, West Virginia, at 12.8% (lowest). In Colorado, the highest and lowest were Grand Junction at 25.4% and Boulder at 22.2%.
Across metro areas, 22.7% of owner households were cost burdened.
Share of owner households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2018–2022
From 2018 to 2022, 50.5% of renter households in metro areas were cost burdened, meaning they spent more than 30% of their income on rent. The metro areas in the US with the highest share of cost-burdened renter households were the Greater Miami metro area at 62.6%, while Appleton, Wisconsin, had the lowest at 32.8%. In Colorado, the Boulder area had the highest share of cost-burdened renter households at 59.0%, and the Grand Junction area had the lowest at 47.2%.
Across metro areas, 50.5% of renter households were cost burdened.
Share of renter households that spent at least 30% of their income on housing, 2018–2022
The difference between the cost-burdened share of owner and renter households was narrowest in the Grand Junction, CO area, where cost burden was 21.8 percentage points higher among renters than owners, and highest in the Boulder, CO area where the gap was 36.8 percentage points. Within the state overall, the gap was 28.6 percentage points.
Cost-burdened households, Colorado metro areas (2018-2022)
| 1. | Boulder, CO area | 59.0% |
| 2. | Colorado Springs, CO area | 53.9% |
| 3. | Denver, CO area | 51.0% |
| 4. | Fort Collins, CO area | 53.3% |
| 5. | Grand Junction, CO area | 47.2% |
| 6. | Greeley, CO area | 52.3% |
| 7. | Pueblo, CO area | 52.8% |
