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DENVER – In the discussion over growth and rising housing prices, Denver gets most of the attention but a new report shows that many renters in other cities along the Front Range are having a harder time making rent.
Rental listing site ApartmentList analyzed the latest American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau, specifically median rents and median incomes, to determine what percentage of renters in a given community are “cost-burdened.” A person is considered cost-burdened if they spend more than the recommended 30 percent of their income on housing.
Nationally, the share of cost-burdened renters has been on the decline in recent years but in many Colorado communities, the numbers are still high.
In Denver, 51 percent of renters are cost-burdened. Head north though, and the situation is worse: In Boulder that number rises to 60 percent and in Fort Collins, it’s 61 percent.
Here’s a look at the other Colorado cities included in the ApartmentList report:
- Fort Collins: 61 percent
- Boulder: 60 percent
- Colorado Springs: 55 percent
- Denver: 51 percent
- Grand Junction: 50 percent
- Greeley: 50 percent
- Pueblo: 50 percent
Part of the reason Denver appears to be faring better could due to the influx in recent years of people with high-paying jobs. ApartmentList’s analysis found that much of the improvement in the national cost burden rate was due to more high-income households entering the rental market.
Of the 100 biggest metro areas in the United States, Miami has the highest cost burden rate at 62.7 percent, according to ApartmentList.
To read the full report, head over to apartmentlist.com.