Why Are People Leaving Colorado? What You Need to Know

Colorado just lost 12,000 more people than we gained. That number surprised me when I first saw it, and it's a conversation I'm having more often with clients who are weighing whether to stay or go. I've been helping families choose their perfect location in Denver for the last seven years, and I've watched this shift happen in real time. Some of it makes complete sense. Some of it catches people off guard.

This isn't a doom-and-gloom story. Denver is still a strong market, and plenty of people are moving here for the lifestyle, the job opportunities, and the access to the mountains. But if you're thinking about buying or selling, it helps to understand what's driving people out. Affordability is the headline, but it's not the whole picture. Politics, weather, lifestyle expectations, and personal reasons all play a role. I'm going to walk through each one and what it means for you.

Table of Contents

• Affordability: The Biggest Factor Driving People Out
• Lifestyle Mismatch: When the Dream Doesn't Match Reality
• Politics: A Purple State That Feels Split Down the Middle
• Weather: Snow, Heat, and the 30-Minute Rule
• Personal Reasons: Family, Jobs, and the Ocean
• What This Means for Buyers
• What This Means for Sellers

Affordability: The Biggest Factor Driving People Out

You probably already guessed this one. The prices of homes here in the Denver area are expensive. Land is expensive. The typical household in the Denver metro area makes about $100,000 median income, but the monthly average mortgage payment actually takes about 41% of that average salary. That's a big chunk of your paycheck going to housing.

Last spring, I helped a couple make the choice to leave this beautiful state. They figured out they could cash in on huge equity gains that we've seen in the last five or ten years. And that's a reality for a lot of people. If you're living in a home that has a pretty low payment and a low interest rate, and your salary is not increasing but the home is not quite right for them, they are choosing to cash in and then move to another state instead.

Buying another house in this state is going to easily mean doubling their monthly payment, but their income didn't also just double. That's a choice that a lot of sellers are making right now, and it's completely understandable. While technically you can get a conventional loan for 45% loan-to-value ratio, having a higher payment of course means that your lifestyle is impacted. People are weighing whether they want to stretch that far or take their equity and move somewhere with a lower cost of living.

Lifestyle Mismatch: When the Dream Doesn't Match Reality

There are so many people who dream about moving here, and they want to hike and ride bikes and camp and ski. Then they end up living in the wrong part of town. Their commute up to the ski resorts, hanging out in Breckenridge, Vail, all of the absolutely gorgeous places up in the mountains that we all love to go to, ends up being right along the I-70 corridor.

You can very easily have a four-hour drive on a Sunday morning up to the ski resorts, especially if the roads are not fantastic. They are refreshing and redoing that corridor, so hopefully it'll alleviate some of that traffic. But right now, it's a real factor. Some people come out here really hoping for the Colorado lifestyle, and then they're really surprised at how challenging it is to live in the rugged mountains.

Why would they pay for the premium of living here when they're really more interested in living on a golf course or playing pickleball? The great news is there are plenty of recreation centers all over the place, and so you can really find exactly what you want without paying a premium to live close to them. Be careful when you're choosing a place to live because you could potentially be overpaying to live near amenities that you don't actually use.

That's actually why I created the Living in Denver quiz. I had so many people who just weren't quite sure where exactly they should live, and it will literally go through everything having to do with your lifestyle. Picking the right location is very important. You don't want to overpay for amenities that you don't actually want.

Politics: A Purple State That Feels Split Down the Middle

This is the most interesting one of all. What I think is kind of crazy is that we are definitely more of a liberal state, but it feels more like we're half and half. In 2024, election results swung Democratic by 54% as compared to 42%. The rest, of course, voted independent. That means that for every conversation you're having at a barbecue or with a neighbor, it's a toss-up on where they're going to fall politically speaking.

We have people here who are incredibly liberal and have all kinds of demonstrations and movements, especially in downtown Denver and Boulder. The scene is very charged and lively and full of energy, and that can feel really awesome to some people. It can also offend people, especially people who are leaning more right and tend to be a little bit more of the minority.

If you're going to move here and have a lot of opinions about your politics, that's fantastic because you're probably going to find a place that really fits your vibe. But what's not going to go well is if you are completely against people who have different opinions from you. In order to live comfortably here, it's really important that you can get along with your neighbor who maybe disagrees with you.

Living in Colorado means that you have to negotiate having about half of the state with an opposite opinion to what yours is. If politics is really what's driving your decision, don't really overthink it by neighborhood or area because you're probably going to find it really, really mixed anywhere you go.

Weather: Snow, Heat, and the 30-Minute Rule

We have a joke in Colorado: if you don't like the weather, wait for 30 minutes. I was literally shooting this video and it went from cloudy to gorgeous and sunny in the span of a few minutes. But some people don't like the weather, and so they move out of the state. I mean, to the point that they don't like snow or anything under 60 degrees, and so they move to warmer climates.

It does snow here, although we had a very, very mild winter. When it does snow, sometimes you are actually stuck in your home before you can shovel out your driveway. Snowplows take some time to get down the street, and sometimes schools close, which means if you're a parent, you're staying home with your kids and taking care of them.

I have heard of some people leaving the state because it gets too hot, which I think is kind of interesting, and it's probably true about this year. We had countless days over 90 degrees throughout the summer, which means in some ways it's just very uncomfortable to be outside. You do have to get up and get out in the morning, and sometimes getting out for a nice morning walk with your dog or your kids can be really refreshing. But the middle of the day, you probably want to be in water, and honestly, there's not a ton of water around.

We do have quite a few reservoirs and lakes, so people who are really into boats and water are probably not interested in living in Colorado because there's a whole lot less available.

Personal Reasons: Family, Jobs, and the Ocean

This is really not even that surprising. People leave because they had a baby and they want to be closer to their parents, or because they have aging parents and they need to go help their parents in another state. They leave for jobs. They leave because they enjoy the ocean. You name it, personal reasons all day long. I would say that's probably the top reason that people are leaving Colorado.

What This Means for Buyers

Here are the top three things I'll tell you. Number one, pick the right location. Take my Living in Denver quiz. Number two, choose an agent who knows how to negotiate well for you so they can tell if that seller is motivated to leave the state for a certain reason. Number three, plan to buy and hold your home for at least two years so that you can capitalize on equity gains and not end up paying tons of fees just to live here for a couple of years.

If you want to test out the state, renting is not the worst option ever, and I'm happy to chat with you about whether it makes sense to rent versus buy depending on your personal situation.

What This Means for Sellers

Number one priority is find an agent who can help you price and stage and prepare your home to sell and then market your home incredibly well. I do only the top-of-the-line marketing because it makes a huge difference. You have one second to catch the attention of a buyer who is searching online, and so your marketing better look top of the line.

The other thing is really talk to an agent who can help you time the market correctly. I have done this with tons and tons of clients where we're preparing to sell over a long period of time so that when you are ready, we can maximize your profit. If you are going to cash in and move to another state, I want to make sure you net the most amount of money as possible on the sale of that property.

I would love to chat with you whether you're thinking about buying, selling, or just trying to figure out if Denver is the right fit for you long term. I talk to people all the time who are a couple years out from making a move, and that's completely fine. Reach out and let's have a conversation.