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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.
#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
"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.
Why Pueblo ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 94 on the cost index, residents save roughly 18% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,316/month while the median household pulls in $55,305/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 85, though Healthcare (97) lags behind. Home prices average $283,780 — $183,590 below the national median.
Now apply that to an actual budget: Across Colorado, the average cost of living index is 111 — 1 points below the national median. Known for outdoor lifestyle with a rising price tag, the state offers 11 tracked cities with median rents averaging $1,765/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — . That's $130 less than the national average of $1,895. This alone could tip the scales.
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.
| 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 |
111,077 residents · Colorado
Straight up: a closer look at Pueblo: the cost index of 94 breaks down to a Housing index of 85 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 97 (weakest). Median rent is $1,316/month — 31% below the national median — while household income sits at $55,305, meaning locals spend about 29% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
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
Why Denver ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 113 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 1% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,818/month while the median household pulls in $91,681/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 104, though Housing (133) lags behind. Home prices average $530,920 — $63,550 above the national median.
488,664 residents · Colorado
The #4 spot goes to Colorado Springs, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,667/month — saving renters $2,736 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 98, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 118. At a 24% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
395,052 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.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to students. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Colorado by this personalized metric. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
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.