AreaProfile

Denver, Colorado

Area Profile

718,877 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Denver, in Denver County.

60
Area Score
Bottom 39% of 133 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity71st of 139 published cities56
GrowthTop 24% of 134 published cities64
Housing affordability110th of 150 published cities57
Climate129th of 149 published cities59
Physical resilience104th of 150 published cities44
AccessTop 32% of 149 published cities98
Economic stabilityTop 13% of 150 published cities67
The quick read

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 6,441 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 95% on the prior year.

A major airport is 13 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

Its Area Score of 60 places Denver in the top 61% of published city profiles.

At a glance

Population
718,877
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$94,718
Top 22% nationally
Density
4,696/sq mi
153.1 sq mi of land
Median age
35.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Denver County
Colorado
Metro area
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
Nearest major airport
DEN
13 mi · Denver Intl
Median home value
$616,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.1% is lower than 75% of the 140 measured US cities.

Employment fell 2.9% over the past year, to 423,520 employed residents.

57% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 92% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,644$94,718Top 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$916$64,163Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate11.2%Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute26.9 minTop 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher56.5%Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment423,520Top 13%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-2.4%Bottom 15%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.9%Bottom 9%June 2026
Labor force441,519Top 13%June 2026
Labor force participation74.4%Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$81,690Top 9%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$62,320Top 7%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.0%Bottom 45%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.1%Bottom 25%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/066.52.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.1% in June 2026.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202495k78k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $94,718 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers42,810$37,070
Retail Salespersons40,340$38,470
Stockers and Order Fillers32,610$44,480
Registered Nurses30,380$101,130
Business Operations Specialists, All Other28,670$94,990
Software Developers27,010$137,610

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,831 takes 23% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 6.5 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
23.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
6.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,831
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$616,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income6.50Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate48.8%Bottom 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±203359,581Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$17$1,831Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,700$616,000Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income23.2%Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate6.7%Bottom 37%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
64/ 100
Top 24% of 134 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 729,019 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

85% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

At 9.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
6,441
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.0
Top 12% nationally
Year over year
+95%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
84.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024729k712k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
20202021202220232024202510k4k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−7%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 15.4 inches, including 49.0 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DENVER-STAPLETON, 0.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND2.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation15.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall49.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing43°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

44 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hail, tornado and earthquake.

HailHigh
TornadoElevated
EarthquakeModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, strong wind, inland flooding, winter weather, cold wave, landslide, volcanic activity, heat wave, wildfire, drought, ice storm, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

9 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 13 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Denver IntlDEN13 mi16,000 ft
CentennialAPA13 mi10,001 ft
Rocky Mountain MetroBJC16 mi9,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
60
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

ZIP codes in Denver

6 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
8021959,523$68,41555
8023944,956$98,14861
8024941,590$100,32461
8021039,113$127,27063
8021138,177$121,43963
8022037,203$106,05462