Boulder, CO

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

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2024 Population
328,961
US Senator
Michael Bennet
Democratic Party
US Senator
John Hickenlooper
Democratic Party
2024 Median Age
37.7
0.533% 1-year increase
2024 Poverty Rate
11.2%
2.53% 1-year decrease
2024 Median Household Income
$103,994
1.19% 1-year growth
2024 Median Property Value
$756,300
5.94% 1-year growth
2024 Employed Population
177,475
0.0276% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Boulder, CO reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

95.2% of the residents in Boulder, CO are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Boulder, CO are University of Colorado Boulder (10,241 degrees awarded in 2023), Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts-Boulder (3,662 degrees), and Naropa University (258 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Boulder, CO was $756,300, and the homeownership rate was 62%.

Most people in Boulder, CO drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 22.3 minutes. The average car ownership in Boulder, CO was 2 cars per household.

Photo by Bryce Bradford
United StatesColorado

Population & Diversity

Boulder, CO is home to a population of 329k people, from which 95.2% are citizens. As of 2024, 10.1% of Boulder, CO residents were born outside of the country (33.2k people).

In 2024, there were 9.97 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (245k people) in Boulder, CO than any other race or ethnicity. There were 24.6k Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) and 15.3k Asian (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

95.2%
2024 Citizenship
95%
2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 95.2% of Boulder, CO residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Boulder, CO was 95%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Boulder, CO compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

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Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Boulder, CO
  1. White (Non-Hispanic)
    245k ± 710
  2. Two Races Including Other (Hispanic)
    24.6k ± 1.66k
  3. Asian (Non-Hispanic)
    15.3k ± 631
14.7%
Hispanic Population
48.5k people

In 2024, there were 9.97 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (245k people) in Boulder, CO than any other race or ethnicity. There were 24.6k Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) and 15.3k Asian (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

14.7% of the people in Boulder, CO are hispanic (48.5k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Boulder, CO as a share of the total population.

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Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the MSA level, so we are showing data for Colorado.
Most Common Origin
  1. Mexico
    203,143 ± 10,870 people
  2. India
    22,453 ± 3,672 people
  3. China
    17,281 ± 3,223 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Colorado was Mexico, the natal country of 203,143 Colorado residents, followed by India with 22,453 and China with 17,281.

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Foreign-Born Population

10.1%
2024 Foreign-Born Population
33.2k people
10%
2023 Foreign-Born Population
33k people

As of 2024, 10.1% of Boulder, CO residents (33.2k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Boulder, CO was 10%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Boulder, CO compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

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Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period
  1. Vietnam
    4,209 ± 403
  2. Gulf War (2001-)
    2,899 ± 531
  3. Gulf War (1990s)
    1,332 ± 284

Boulder, CO has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.45 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Boulder, CO.

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Economy

The economy of Boulder, CO employs 177k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Boulder, CO were Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (31,285 people), Educational Services (23,949 people), and Health Care & Social Assistance (18,303 people), and the highest paying industries were Management of Companies & Enterprises ($250,001), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($111,261), and Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($103,177).

Employment

Occupations

177k
2024 Value
± 3,401
0.0276%
1 Year growth
± 2.7%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Boulder, CO grew at a rate of 0.0276%, from 177k employees to 177k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Boulder, CO, are Management Occupations (25,625 people), Sales & Related Occupations (16,293 people), and Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (14,900 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Boulder, CO.

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Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Colorado.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Colorado (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

177k
2024 Value
± 3,401
0.0276%
1 Year growth
± 2.7%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Boulder, CO grew at a rate of 0.0276%, from 177k employees to 177k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Boulder, CO, are Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (31,285 people), Educational Services (23,949 people), and Health Care & Social Assistance (18,303 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Boulder, CO, though some of these residents may live in Boulder, CO and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

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Median Earnings by Industry

$69,816
Median earning men ± $2,077
$47,380
Median earning women ± $1,684

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($110,807), Information ($107,083), and Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($104,144).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($85,886), Public Administration ($82,200), and Manufacturing ($79,705).

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Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Colorado.
Y-Axis
1.73%
Year-over-year growth
Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 2.87M people employed in Colorado. This represents a 1.73% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 11.9%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Colorado.

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Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments
  1. 2,238
    Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
  2. 993
    Health Care and Social Assistance
  3. 796
    Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

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Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll
  1. $3.33M
    Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
  2. $2.09M
    Information
  3. $1.22M
    Health Care and Social Assistance

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

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Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Colorado went to Kamala Harris with 54.1% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (43.1%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.12%).

Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper are the senators currently representing the state of Colorado. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Colorado is currently represented by 8 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Voting results are not available for Boulder, CO. Showing the available data for Colorado.
2024 Election Results
  1. Kamala Harris (54.1%)
    Democratic Party
  2. Donald J. Trump (43.1%)
    Republican Party
  3. Robert Kennedy (1.12%)
    Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Colorado went to Kamala Harris with 54.1% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (43.1%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.12%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Colorado for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

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Senator Elections

US Senators from Colorado

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Colorado.
Michael Bennet
Senator from Colorado3
Assumed office on January 21, 2009
Appointed to the seat following the resignation of Ken Salazar, who had become Secretary of the Interior.
John Hickenlooper
Senator from Colorado2
Assumed office on January 3, 2021

Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper are the senators currently representing Colorado.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Colorado over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

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Education

In 2023, universities in Boulder, CO awarded 14,209 degrees. The student population of Boulder, CO in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 25,547 male students and 25,633 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Boulder, CO are White (8,256 and 62.2%), Hispanic or Latino (1,647 and 12.4%), Black or African American (1,570 and 11.8%), and Two or More Races (859 and 6.47%).

The largest universities in Boulder, CO by number of degrees awarded are University of Colorado Boulder (10,241 and 72.1%), Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts-Boulder (3,662 and 25.8%), and Naropa University (258 and 1.82%).

The most popular majors in Boulder, CO are Culinary Arts & Chef Training (2,032 and 14.3%), Baking & Pastry Arts (1,579 and 11.1%), and General Business Administration & Management (1,407 and 9.9%).

The median tuition costs in Boulder, CO are $34,400 for private four year colleges, and $13,910 and $40,297 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University
Measure

In 2023 in Boulder, CO, the percentage of applicants admitted was 83.3%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 16.2%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 51,180 (49.9% men and 50.1% women).

The line chart  shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

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Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 51,180 students enrolled in Boulder, CO, 49.9% men and 50.1% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 30,086 records, of which 48.7% were women and 51.3% men.

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Completions

Concentrations

Most Common
  1. General Psychology
    618 degrees awarded
  2. Computer Science
    483 degrees awarded
  3. General Business Administration & Management
    1,201 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Boulder, CO was General Psychology with 618 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Boulder, CO according to their major.

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Universities

Gender
Race
Largest Universities by degrees awarded
  1. University of Colorado Boulder
    10,241 degrees awarded
  2. Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts-Boulder
    3,662 degrees awarded
  3. Naropa University
    258 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of Colorado Boulder with 10,241 degrees awarded.

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Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 6,492 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Boulder, CO, which is 0.841 times less than the 7,717 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 8,256 degrees mean that there were 5.01 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 1,647 degrees awarded.

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Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

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Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($34,400) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,646) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($1,256) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

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Housing & Living

The median property value in Boulder, CO was $756,300 in 2024, which is 2.27 times larger than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $713,900 to $756,300, a 5.94% increase. The homeownership rate in Boulder, CO is 62%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Boulder, CO have an average commute time of 22.3 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Boulder, CO is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$756,300
Median Property Value 2024
±$14,324
$84,900
Median Property Taxes
±$1,913

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Boulder, CO the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Boulder, CO compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

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Rent vs Own

62%
Homeownership
2024
70.2%
Homeowners with Mortgage
2024

In 2024, 62% of the housing units in Boulder, CO were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 62.5%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Boulder, CO compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

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Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.
$103,994
Median Household Income
± $2,268
137k
Number of Households
± 2,820

In 2024, the median household income of the 137k households in Boulder, CO grew to $103,994 from the previous year's value of $102,772.

The following chart displays the households in Boulder, CO distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $200k+ range.

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Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Boulder, CO is from Colorado.
0.462
2023 Wage GINI in Colorado
0.464
2022 Wage GINI in Colorado

In 2023, the income inequality in Colorado was 0.462 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.304% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Colorado was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Colorado in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Colorado across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

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Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024
  1. Drove Alone (52.8%)
  2. Worked At Home (31.2%)
  3. Carpooled (5.31%)

In 2024, 52.8% of workers in Boulder, CO drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (31.2%) and those who carpooled to work (5.31%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

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Commute Time

22.3 minutes
Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Boulder, CO have a shorter commute time (22.3 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.44% of the workforce in Boulder, CO have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Boulder, CO compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

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Car Ownership

2 cars
Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Boulder, CO distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Boulder, CO have 2 cars.

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Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

11.2% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Boulder, CO (35.3k out of 316k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Males 18 - 24, followed by Females 18 - 24 and then Females 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Boulder, CO is White, followed by Hispanic and Two Or More.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

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Health

95.6% of the population of Boulder, CO has health coverage, with 56.9% on employee plans, 9.42% on Medicaid, 12.3% on Medicare, 16.1% on non-group plans, and 0.869% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Colorado see 1,207 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,207 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1161 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 204 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50.4% were men and 49.6% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Colorado.
1,207 to 1
Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Colorado

Primary care physicians in Colorado see an average of 1,207 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,207 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Colorado in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

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Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 20% under 18 years, 26.7% between 18 and 34 years, 37.3% between 35 and 64 years, and 16.1% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50.4% were men and 49.6% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

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Uninsured People

4.41%
Uninsured
56.9%
Employer Coverage
9.42%
Medicaid
12.3%
Medicare
16.1%
Non-Group
0.869%
Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Boulder, CO grew by 0.756% from 4.37% to 4.41%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Boulder, CO changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

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