How does the cost of living in your area compare to Broomfield County or Yuma County? The Colorado Legislative Council collects Cost of Living data for Colorado’s 64 counties and has done so every two years since 1993 for the Public School Finance Act of 1994 for the School District Funding Formula.
The current data is from 2013. It assumes a three person household, 1,500 square foot home, with household income of $49,100.Annual expenditures are broken down as follows:
• Housing 33.8%
• Transportation 19.3%
• Food 13.6%
• Health Care 7.3%
• Entertainment 4.5%
• Apparel 3.3%
• Other Categories 18.2%
The counties are indexed off the state HHI, $49,100. Twenty-one counties are above the state value and 43 are below it.
As expected the counties in the state’s “Very High” category are the ones where the state’s prime ski areas are located.
| Rank | County | HHI | Index | Index Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pitkin | $84,810 | 172.7 | Very High |
| 2 | Summit | $59,836 | 121.9 | Very High |
| 3 | San Miguel | $54,717 | 111.4 | Very High |
| 4 | Routt | $54,311 | 110.6 | Very High |
Four counties are in the “High” category. Boulder County is in the “High” category. It is the Boulder MSA
| Rank | County | HHI | Index | Index Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Eagle | $53,931 | 109.8 | High |
| 6 | Denver | $53,796 | 109.6 | High |
| 7 | Grand | $52,067 | 106.0 | High |
| 8 | Boulder | $52,041 | 106.0 | High |
Twenty-two counties are in the “Mid-Range” category. Larimer County is in the “Mid-Range” category. It is the Fort Collins MSA. Note that Park County, #21, is only a few dollars above the state average.
| Rank | County | HHI | Index | Index Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Hinsdale | $50,800 | 103.5 | Mid-Range |
| 10 | Gilpin | $50,677 | 103.2 | Mid-Range |
| 11 | La Plata | $50,670 | 103.2 | Mid-Range |
| 12 | Broomfield | $50,651 | 103.2 | Mid-Range |
| 13 | Gunnison | $50,298 | 102.4 | Mid-Range |
| 14 | Jefferson | $50,108 | 102.1 | Mid-Range |
| 15 | Clear Creek | $49,949 | 101.7 | Mid-Range |
| 16 | Garfield | $49,777 | 101.4 | Mid-Range |
| 17 | Lake | $49,745 | 101.3 | Mid-Range |
| 18 | Douglas | $49,722 | 101.3 | Mid-Range |
| 19 | Ouray | $49,502 | 100.8 | Mid-Range |
| 20 | San Juan | $49,197 | 100.2 | Mid-Range |
| 21 | Park | $49,115 | 100.0 | Mid-Range |
| 22 | Arapahoe | $48,570 | 98.9 | Mid-Range |
| 23 | El Paso | $48,427 | 98.6 | Mid-Range |
| 24 | Larimer | $48,319 | 98.4 | Mid-Range |
| 25 | Mineral | $48,222 | 98.2 | Mid-Range |
| 26 | Moffat | $47,874 | 97.5 | Mid-Range |
| 27 | Elbert | $47,706 | 97.2 | Mid-Range |
| 28 | Teller | $47,489 | 96.7 | Mid-Range |
| 29 | Adams | $47,477 | 96.7 | Mid-Range |
| 30 | Chaffee | $47,320 | 96.4 | Mid-Range |
Sixteen counties are in the “Low” category. Weld, Mesa, and Pueblo Counties represent three of the states MSAs.
| Rank | County | HHI | Index | Index Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Morgan | $46,604 | 94.9 | Low |
| 32 | Delta | $46,514 | 94.7 | Low |
| 33 | Weld | $46,419 | 94.5 | Low |
| 34 | Custer | $46,234 | 94.2 | Low |
| 35 | Mesa | $45,986 | 93.7 | Low |
| 36 | Rio Blanco | $45,932 | 93.5 | Low |
| 37 | Pueblo | $45,707 | 93.1 | Low |
| 38 | Montrose | $45,605 | 92.9 | Low |
| 39 | Logan | $45,519 | 92.7 | Low |
| 40 | Rio Grande | $45,301 | 92.3 | Low |
| 41 | Alamosa | $45,295 | 92.3 | Low |
| 42 | Fremont | $45,274 | 92.2 | Low |
| 43 | Montezuma | $45,206 | 92.1 | Low |
| 44 | Jackson | $44,834 | 91.3 | Low |
| 45 | Archuleta | $44,665 | 91.0 | Low |
| 46 | Kit Carson | $44,563 | 90.8 | Low |
Eighteen counties are in the “Very Low” category. These are all rural counties.
| Rank | County | HHI | Index | Index Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | Dolores | $43,943 | 89.5 | Very Low |
| 48 | Phillips | $43,713 | 89.0 | Very Low |
| 49 | Costilla | $43,537 | 88.7 | Very Low |
| 50 | Saguache | $43,331 | 88.3 | Very Low |
| 51 | Las Animas | $43,233 | 88.1 | Very Low |
| 52 | Lincoln | $43,044 | 87.7 | Very Low |
| 53 | Huerfano | $42,970 | 87.5 | Very Low |
| 54 | Washington | $42,947 | 87.5 | Very Low |
| 55 | Yuma | $42,786 | 87.1 | Very Low |
| 56 | Sedgwick | $42,781 | 87.1 | Very Low |
| 57 | Otero | $42,013 | 85.6 | Very Low |
| 58 | Cheyenne | $41,956 | 85.4 | Very Low |
| 59 | Conejos | $41,889 | 85.3 | Very Low |
| 60 | Bent | $41,477 | 84.5 | Very Low |
| 61 | Crowley | $41,440 | 84.4 | Very Low |
| 62 | Prowers | $41,197 | 83.9 | Very Low |
| 63 | Baca | $40,779 | 83.1 | Very Low |
| 64 | Kiowa | $40,438 | 82.4 | Very Low |
The Colorado Springs MSA includes El Paso and Teller Counties. They are both in the Mid-Range category, slightly below the state level of 100.
The Denver MSA has ten counties. Denver is in the “High” category and the following counties are in the “Mid-Range” category: Gilpin, Broomfield, Jefferson, Clear Creek, Douglas, Park, Arapahoe, Elbert, and Adams counties.
As can be seen, Colorado is a diverse state from many perspectives: geographically, ethnically, and from an industry mix. It is also a diverse state in terms of the cost of living. In simplistic terms, the cost of living is higher in the metro areas and the mountain resort communities and lower in the rural communities.