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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
"Affordable" for students means: can rent fit a part-time paycheck? Are groceries reasonable? We analyzed 11 cities in Colorado, weighting rent and food highest. Pueblo takes the top spot.
111,077 residents · Colorado
Here's Pueblo by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 94. Rent: $1,316/month. Income: $55,305/year. Home price: $283,780. Population: 111,077. The strongest category is Housing at 85; the most expensive is Healthcare at 97. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $6,948 per year vs. the national median. When healthcare costs are this low, the savings ripple across every other category.
112,609 residents · Colorado
The #2 spot goes to Greeley, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,442/month — saving renters $5,436 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 94, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 106. A 25% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
716,577 residents · Colorado
Denver is one of the cheaper options here. Rent is $1,818/month, which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 113. Income sits at $91,681. That's more or less in line with the region.
488,664 residents · Colorado
Dive into Colorado Springs's numbers: cost index 107 — for better or worse — (5 points below national average), rent $1,667/month, income $83,198, and a home price of $446,132. And in practical terms, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 98, while Housing runs 118. With 488,664 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
177,563 residents · Colorado
Why Aurora ranks #5: the numbers tell a clear story. At 108 on the cost index, residents save roughly 4% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,689/month while the median household pulls in $84,320/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 99, though Housing (120) lags behind. Home prices average $458,953 — $8,417 below the national median.
#1 Ranked: Pueblo — cost index 94, rent $1,316/mo, income $55,305
Student-budget scoring: rent $1,316/mo, food index 92, cost index 94 — survival-level affordability
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pueblo | 94 | $1,316 | Details |
| 2 | Greeley | 102 | $1,442 | Details |
| 3 | Denver | 113 | $1,818 | Details |
| 4 | Colorado Springs | 107 | $1,667 | Details |
| 5 | Aurora | 108 | $1,689 | Details |
| 6 | Fort Collins | 117 | $1,970 | Details |
| 7 | Lakewood | 114 | $1,733 | Details |
| 8 | Thornton | 113 | $1,888 | Details |
| 9 | Arvada | 121 | $2,053 | Details |
| 10 | Westminster | 112 | $1,788 | Details |
| 11 | Centennial | 122 | $2,056 | Details |
"Affordable" for students means: can rent fit a part-time paycheck? Are groceries reasonable? We analyzed 11 cities in Colorado, weighting rent and food highest. Pueblo takes the top spot.
Pueblo earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 94 cost index sits 18 points below the national baseline, and the $55,305 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $283,780 — $183,590 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 85, while Healthcare trails at 97.
Look, Student affordability boils down to three survival metrics: rent under $1,200/month (25pts), overall cost index (20pts), and food costs (10pts). Pueblo leads at $1,316/month rent with a food index of 92 — 8% below the national food cost baseline. Greeley is close behind at $1,442/month.
Flip the lens, and you get a different read: State context matters: Colorado's 11 cities average a 111 cost index with $1,765/month median rent and $90,112 household income. Outdoor lifestyle with a rising price tag. Stay with us through the data sources — knowing where these numbers come from changes how you trust them (that's pre-tax, of course).
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours (that's pre-tax, of course).
Pueblo ranks #1 in Colorado for this analysis with a cost index of 94 and median income of $55,305.
Pueblo scores highest for students due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,316/mo, and competitive median income of $55,305.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Pueblo (ranked #1) has a cost index of 94 and rent of $1,316/mo, while Centennial (ranked #11) has a cost index of 122 and rent of $2,056/mo — a 28-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Pueblo is $1,316/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $579 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Pueblo is $283,780, which is 5.1× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Colorado has a 4.4% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.81%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.49%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.