Colorado has Diverse Cost of Living

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.

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