State profile

Colorado

Population, economy, housing, and demographics · ACS 2020–2024

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At a glance

Total population
5,862,189
Median household income
$95,470
People below poverty
9.4%
Median home value
$539,400

Census Insights

  • Colorado's total population rose from 5,197,580 to 5,862,189 over the comparison period.
  • The share of residents aged 25 to 34 was 15.7%, the 2nd highest among states.
  • The share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher was 45.7%, the 3rd highest among states.
  • The poverty rate was relatively low at 9.4%, the 4th lowest among states.
  • Income stood out: median household income was $95,470 (the 10th highest among states) and median earnings were $70,047 (the 9th highest among states).
  • The employment rate was 64.6%, the 7th highest among states.
  • The share of people working from home was 21.0%, the 2nd highest among states.
  • Housing costs were relatively high: typical home value was $539,400 (the 6th highest among states) and median gross rent was $1,761 (the 5th highest among states).

Income

The median income of households in Colorado was $95,470. An estimated 3.9% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 17% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 3.9
$10,000 to $14,999 2.4
$15,000 to $24,999 4.8
$25,000 to $34,999 5.2
$35,000 to $49,999 8.4
$50,000 to $74,999 14.6
$75,000 to $99,999 12.8
$100,000 to $149,999 19.2
$150,000 to $199,999 11.7
$200,000 or more 17

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 75549
Female 62484

An estimated 81.5% of households received earnings. An estimated 25.6% of households received Social Security and an estimated 22.2 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $24,827. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 81.5
Social Security 25.6
Retirement income 22.2
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 3.2
Cash public assistance income 2.5

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 9.4 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 11.1% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 8.4% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 9.1% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 9.4
Children under 18 years below poverty 11.1
People 65 years old and over below poverty 8.4
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 9.1

In 2020-2024, 8.5 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 45% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 37.2% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 28.6% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Colorado in 2020-2024, 92.3% had health insurance coverage and 7.7% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 70.4% and public coverage was 32.9%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 5.2%.


In 2020-2024, Colorado had a total population of 5,862,189 - 2,892,789 (49.3%) females and 2,969,400 (50.7%) males. The median age was 37.7 years. An estimated 21% of the population was under 18 years, 36.8% was 19 to 44 years, 24% was 45 to 64 years, and 15.6 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Colorado in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 159555 153076
5 to 9 167634 161490
10 to 14 187640 177782
15 to 19 195426 180453
20 to 24 199053 184353
25 to 29 233712 213466
30 to 34 247952 225360
35 to 39 231638 213105
40 to 44 214519 198297
45 to 49 185797 173962
50 to 54 181383 172076
55 to 59 169248 169676
60 to 64 172529 179005
65 to 69 149895 162451
70 to 74 121613 131266
75 to 79 73898 86316
80 to 84 40982 54550
85 and over 36926 56105

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 70.5% were White; 4% were Black or African American; 7.9% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 3.3% were Asian; 1.6% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 14.9% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 22.5% of the people in Colorado were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 64.8% of the people in Colorado were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 2,374,218 households in Colorado. The average household size was 2.42 people.

Married-couple households made up 48.3% of the households in Colorado while cohabiting couple households made up 7.9% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 24.1% of all households, while 19.7% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 13.9% of households were male householders living alone, and 14.7% were female householders living alone, for a total of 28.6% of all households.

In Colorado, 28.4% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 27.5% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 48.3
Cohabiting Couples 7.9
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
19.7
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
24.1

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 50.8% of males and 50% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 36.5 29.7
Now married, except separated 50.8 50
Separated 1 1.4
Widowed 2 6.3
Divorced 9.6 12.6

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Colorado, 94,178 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 33% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 90.2% of the people living in Colorado were U.S. natives. 41.2% of the Colorado population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 9.8% of Colorado residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 47.6% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 68.2 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Colorado come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Colorado.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 51.5
Asia 23.5
Europe 13.4
Africa 7.7
Northern America 2.7
Oceania 1.1

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Colorado in 2020-2024, 16.2 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 11.1% of people at least five years old; 5.6% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 11.1
Other Indo-European languages 2.4
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 1.9
Other languages 0.9

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 84.1 % of the people at least one year old living in Colorado were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 84.1
Different house, same county 6.7
Different county, same state 4.8
Different state 3.8
Abroad 0.6

Education

In 2020-2024, 92.9 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 45.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 7.1% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Colorado was 1,369,681 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 81,093 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 910,567. College or graduate school enrollment was 378,021.

Educational Attainment of People in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 7.1
High school diploma or equivalency 19.7
Some college, no degree 19.2
Associate's degree 8.3
Bachelor's degree 28.1
Graduate or professional degree 17.6

Disability

In Colorado, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 11.4 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 3.9% of people under 18 years old, to 9.5% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 29.6% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Colorado, 64.6 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 31.4% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 79.1% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 14.5% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 6.2 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 2,441,315 79.1
Federal, state, or local government workers 446,702 14.5
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 191,614 6.2

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Colorado worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 1.8
Construction 8
Manufacturing 7
Wholesale trade 2
Retail trade 10.2
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 5.2
Information 2.6
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 7.2
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 15.6
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 21.8
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 9
Other Services, except public administration 4.8
Public administration 4.7

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Colorado in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 1,484,225 48.1
Service occupations 459,189 14.9
Sales and office occupations 588,164 19.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 260,424 8.4
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 293,755 9.5

Commuting to Work

An estimated 65.1% of Colorado workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.7% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 25.2 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 65.1
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.7
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 1.6
Walked 2.5
Other means 2.1
Worked from home 21

In 2020-2024, Colorado had a total of 2,589,053 housing units. Of these housing units, 69.1% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 27.3% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 3.5% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 69.1
Apartments in multi-unit structures 27.3
Mobile homes 3.5
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.1

15.8% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 7% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Colorado was 5.7 rooms, and of these housing units 61.5% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Colorado had 2,374,218 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 214,835 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 66.2% while renters occupied 33.8%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.56 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.15.

5.9% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 5.8% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 5.2% and another 25.4% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Colorado:

House Heating Fuel Used in Colorado in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 71.3
Electricity 25.6
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.1
All other fuels 2.5
No fuel used 0.5

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Colorado was $539,400.

Of the owner-occupied households, 69.4 % had a mortgage. 30.6% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $2,326 and for owners without a mortgage it was $663.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Colorado was $1,761. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.