Mountain West · Updated October 2026
Colorado in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$1,916/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
23.7%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
4.4%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
0.49%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
99.3
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
51st
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Colorado stands out: the 8th highest median household income and the 9th lowest property taxes among the 50 states.
What to weigh: the 7th highest violent crime.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 7.4% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 24th highest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Denver (Denver Intl Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 45°F | 19°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 63°F | 35°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 87°F | 57°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 66°F | 38°F |
$2,169/mo two-bedroom · $1,831 one-bedroom (Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA)
Denver is an outdoorsy, fast-growing high-plains city with a strong craft-beer and cannabis culture and easy mountain access. Sunny and dry with real winters, housing costs have climbed hard, and traffic on the I-70 mountain corridor is a genuine weekend tax.
$1,621/mo two-bedroom · $1,380 one-bedroom (Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area)
Colorado Springs is more conservative, more military and cheaper than Denver, sitting directly beneath Pikes Peak. Excellent hiking and climbing, a large defence and evangelical-institution presence, and a quieter cultural scene than its size suggests.
$2,033/mo two-bedroom · $1,735 one-bedroom (Boulder, CO MSA)
Boulder is a wealthy, highly educated university and tech town wedged against the Flatirons — outstanding trail access, obsessive fitness culture, strict growth limits and consequently brutal housing costs. Small, insular and politically progressive.
$1,759/mo two-bedroom · $1,589 one-bedroom (Fort Collins-Loveland, CO MSA)
Fort Collins is a comfortable college town with a genuinely walkable Old Town, a serious brewing industry and quick access to Rocky Mountain National Park. Family-friendly, increasingly expensive, and quieter than Denver in every sense.
$1,647/mo two-bedroom · $1,307 one-bedroom (Greeley, CO MSA)
Greeley is a northern Colorado city built on agriculture, meatpacking and oil and gas, with the University of Northern Colorado. Noticeably cheaper than Denver or Fort Collins; the feedlot smell is a real local fact.
$1,263/mo two-bedroom · $978 one-bedroom (Pueblo, CO MSA)
Pueblo is a historic steel city on the Arkansas River in southern Colorado, known for green chiles and a riverwalk. The most affordable city on the Front Range, with a hot, dry climate and higher crime than its neighbours.
$2,597/mo two-bedroom · $2,169 one-bedroom (Pitkin County, CO)
Aspen is a world-famous ski resort town where housing costs are essentially disconnected from local wages — most workers commute down-valley. Stunning terrain, exceptional restaurants and a tiny year-round population dominated by extreme wealth.
$1,821/mo two-bedroom · $1,392 one-bedroom (La Plata County, CO)
Durango is a small, scenic mountain town in Colorado's southwest corner — skiing, mountain biking, a historic railroad and a small college. Isolated from the Front Range, affordable by mountain-town standards but not by Colorado's, and short on career ladders.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. Colorado’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 4.4% (Colorado tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 7.4% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $1,916 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,606, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $157 more than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 99.3 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 159.3 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 23.7% of the state’s median household income of $97,113.
Colorado recorded 476.3 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 7th highest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are wildfires. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Colorado’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 51st percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Fort Collins and Greeley. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.