We have been on a tour d’horizon lately, analyzing various American states and identifying the wealthiest cities there. Recently, we have been focused on the Census-designated South region of the United States, conducting studies of the richest cities in Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama. Now, we’re turning to the Rocky Mountain states and we’re starting with the epitome of the Rockies — Colorado.
We analyzed over 480 cities in the state in order to identify the richest cities in Colorado. The way in which we evaluated and scored each city’s ranking is detailed below.
Read on to find out what the richest city in Colorado is, plus the top 50 wealthiest cities in the state overall.
What Are the Richest Cities in Colorado?
In order to put together this list of the richest cities in Colorado, we sourced key financial data from the Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey. From here, we constructed a four-factor scoring system to help identify the wealthiest cities in Colorado:
- Median household income
- Mean (average) household income
- Median home value
- Median property taxes paid
When it comes to Census data, keep these things in mind: For certain factors, the Census numbers have upper limits. For example, for median household income, the Census Bureau has an upper limit of “$250,000+”. For median home value, the upper limit is “$2,000,000+”. For median property taxes paid, the upper limit is “$10,000+”. For these reasons, the mean household income (which is the same as average household income) dataset is crucial because the Census Bureau has exact figures for it. All four of these metrics were scored, added up, and then ranked by the cities’ combined scores.
Below you’ll find a table detailing the top 50 richest cities in Colorado and their respective dollar figures for each metric:
The No. 1 richest city in Colorado in our ranking is Cherry Hills Village, which, despite having “village” in its name, is fairly sizable, with 2,20 total households. Cherry Hills Village is a southern suburb of Denver, in Arapahoe County. In Cherry Hills Village, the median household income exceeds $250,000, while its average household income of $464,068 is the highest in Colorado. The reported median home value in Cherry Hill Villages is in excess of $2 million, the only city in Colorado where that’s true. The same goes for median property taxes paid per year, which exceed $10,000 in Cherry Hills Village. According to Data USA, the employment breakdown makes sense for such a high-income city. The top category of occupations in Cherry Hill Villages is Management Occupations, accounting for 36.2% of the workforce. In terms of the city’s top industries, they are Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (18.7% of the workforce), Finance & Insurance (15.2% of the workforce), and Health Care & Social Assistance (12.4% of the workforce).
The No. 2 richest city in Colorado is Bow Mar, which is southwest of Denver and part of the Front Range Urban Corridor. Its name comes from the two lakes that lie next to it: Bowles Lake and Marston Lake. Bow Mar is a small town, with only 304 total households. The median household income in Bow Mar is $199,000, which is the fifth highest in Colorado. The city’s average household income of $324,109 is the fourth highest in the state. Bow Mar also stands out for its median home value, which is a reported $1,465,900, the second highest in Colorado. Lastly, the median property taxes paid per year is $9,939, the second highest amount besides Cherry Hill Villages.
Coming in at No. 3 on our list of the richest cities in Colorado is Columbine Valley, another suburb south of Denver. According to Data USA, a third of the workforce in Columbine Valley is employed in Management Occupations (33.3%). What’s more, the top industries by employment reflect what one might expect of a high-income town: Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (28.4% of the workforce), Finance & Insurance (17.5% of the workforce), and Real Estate & Rental & Leasing (10.5% of the workforce). With a median household income of $245,208, Columbine Valley has the second highest income in Colorado, behind only Cherry Hill Villages. Its average household income of $331,353 is the third highest in the state. Meanwhile, its reported median home value is $1,058,600, the fourth highest in Colorado but noticeably less than No. 2 Bow Mar’s median home value.