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Place dossier plate
SheetCO-BOULDER-CO · Boulder, CO 106,274 pop · income 67th pct · 78 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Boulder
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Boulder on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Pueblo · lowest
55,305
Pueblo · lowest
55,305 median HH income
35.5% of the leader · rank #1
Sharptown · near
85,357
Sharptown · near
85,357 median HH income
54.8% of the leader · rank #2
Knappa · near
85,357
Knappa · near
85,357 median HH income
54.8% of the leader · rank #3
Boulder · this city
85,364
Boulder · this city
85,364 median HH income
54.8% of the leader · rank #4
Rainbow · near
85,368
Rainbow · near
85,368 median HH income
54.8% of the leader · rank #5
Fredericksburg · near
85,368
Fredericksburg · near
85,368 median HH income
54.8% of the leader · rank #6
Highlands Ran… · highest
155,847
Highlands Ran… · highest
155,847 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Boulder on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 106,274.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Boulder - the verdict
Boulder ranks in the 67th percentile for household income and the 15th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
67th
percentile, household income
97th
percentile, home value
68th
percentile, median rent
15th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Boulder, CO
106,274 people live in Boulder, Colorado - a mid-sized U.S. city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Boulder brings in $85,364 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.9%. Home values in Boulder run a median of $982,600, and the median resident age is 28.8 years. About 76.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 60.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 406 residential building permits were authorized in Boulder (Rapid Growth), up 24% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Boulder's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 3055.3 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 35.2°F with 33.9 inches of precipitation per year.
Colorado carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Colorado scores 103.1 (Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,429 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Colorado run around $202, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 40.7 out of 100 (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Boulder's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from climate and hazard context to within-city variation to schools and households to work and mobility to reported crime to housing and income to population change to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Boulder, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What physical conditions frame life in Boulder?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 35.2°F, with 33.9 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Colorado is 40.7 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 78 Census tracts to this city.
The NCES join finds 30 public schools within the city match. 76.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Which cities make useful reference points for Boulder?
Within Colorado, the closest population matches are Centennial (107,386 residents, $128,167 income); Greeley (109,421 residents, $68,650 income); Highlands Ranch (101,437 residents, $155,847 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Nampa, ID (106,289 residents); Jurupa Valley, CA (106,244 residents); Davie, FL (106,412 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Boulder?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 41.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
5.9%
Work from home
31.6%
Drive alone
41.9%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 56,378 workers age 16+.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Boulder?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3055.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 34% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
2733.0
Violent rate
322.3
Total reported rate
3055.3
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Boulder?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 11.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Household income
$85,364
Home value
$982,600
Value / income
11.5×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -2,742 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 406 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-2.5%
2025 estimate
105,689
2020 estimate
108,431
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Above median income · poverty 5.9% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
103.1 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Colorado average
C-
City profile score · Boulder, CO
54/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share A+
76.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income B-
$85,364
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate C+
5.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
322 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
103.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Boulder profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 100/100 (A+) · 76.8%
Household income: 65/100 (B-) · $85,364
Poverty rate: 60/100 (C+) · 5.9%
Violent crime: 30/100 (F) · 322 /100k
Cost of living: 26/100 (F) · 103.1 index
Where Boulder sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Boulder's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Boulder highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Boulder, CO (this city): home $982,600, crime 3,055/100k
Nampa, ID : home $332,500, crime 1,095/100k
Jurupa Valley, CA : home $538,700, crime 2,703/100k
Concord, NC : home $327,600, crime 1,264/100k
Rio Rancho, NM : home $273,300, crime 1,658/100k
Green Bay, WI : home $191,500, crime 1,807/100k
Centennial, CO : home $626,700, crime 1,882/100k
Greeley, CO : home $369,600, crime 3,690/100k
Pueblo, CO : home $230,900, crime 6,366/100k
Longmont, CO : home $541,400, crime 3,088/100k
Westminster, CO : home $497,400, crime 3,844/100k
How does Boulder compare to other US cities?
Here's how Boulder stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income67% higher than other cities
Home value97% pricier than other cities
Median rent68% pricier than other cities
Safety15% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Colorado alone, Boulder ranks #85 of 116 Colorado cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Boulder against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Colorado only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Colorado-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Boulder near the bottom of Colorado's cities
Among the 408 Colorado cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Boulder ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Boulder only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#170 of 379
55th percentile in Colorado
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 408
0th percentile in Colorado
Median Home Value
#26 of 388
93rd percentile in Colorado
Poverty Rate
#173 of 408
57th percentile in Colorado
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#28 of 408
93rd percentile in Colorado
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Colorado only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
67th percentile nationally for median household income · 15th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Boulder's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Boulder's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Boulder's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$982,6003rd percentilemore affordable than 3% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Boulder's home-value-to-income ratio: 11.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,441 of 15,516
More affordable than 0% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#744 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 11.5×, Boulder sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,441 of 15,516 and #744 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$85,364Boulder, CO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Boulder, CO median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Boulder, CO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)76.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
106,274
Median Income
$85,364
Median Home Value
$982,600
Median Age
28.8
Poverty Rate
5.9%
Labor force participation
60.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
76.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3055.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
322.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2733.0
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
35.2°F
Annual Precipitation
33.9"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
30
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Boulder's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
108,431 residents
2021
104,408 residents
2022
106,038 residents
2023
106,465 residents
2024
106,557 residents
2025
105,689 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Rapid Growth
Total Permits (2024)
406
housing units authorized
Single-Family
35
detached homes
Multifamily
371
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
327
41
286
$100.2M
2020
316
40
276
$88.6M
2021
294
41
253
$126.2M
2022
304
35
269
$109.4M
2023
255
30
225
$94.2M
2024
406
35
371
$124.7M
Permit volume increased 24% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
41.9%
Carpool
3.6%
Public Transit
5.9%
Walk
8.6%
Work from Home
31.6%
Other
8.4%
Based on 56,378 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Colorado statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $202
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Colorado at $202 (electricity about $90 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Colorado statewide averages, not a meter reading for Boulder. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Colorado's BEA cost-of-living index is 103.1 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Boulder is $1,429/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Colorado statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 40.7 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Colorado statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Boulder sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Boulder compares to similar-size Colorado cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.