Coloradoflat 4.4% income tax, 6th lowest property tax, median home $545K

Worth knowing before you move to Colorado

Colorado's flat income tax is 4.4%, and the TABOR amendment refunds revenue above a spending cap back to taxpayers in strong years. Front Range home prices roughly doubled between 2013 and 2023. The state taxes Social Security for residents under 65 but exempts it fully at 65 and over. Wildfire and hail drive homeowner insurance costs along the mountains and plains respectively.

What Colorado taxes, and what it doesn't

Colorado levies a flat 4.4% income tax. A household earning $75,000 pays an effective 4.4%, about $3,300 a year; at $150,000 the effective rate is 4.4%. Among the 41 states that tax income, Colorado has the 20th lowest effective rate at $100,000 of income.

Property tax runs 0.48% of home value a year, roughly $2,616 on the state's median home of $545K. The national effective rate is about 1.10%, and Colorado has the 6th lowest rate of the 50 states.

Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.76%, the 16th highest in the country (the state portion is 2.9%).

For retirees: Colorado is one of the few states that taxes Social Security benefits (SS taxed but up to $24K pension deduction), pension income is partly exempt, and there is no estate or inheritance tax.

Capital gains are taxed as ordinary income.

Housing and the cost of living in Colorado

Colorado's cost of living index is 110, where 100 is the national average; that is the 14th most expensive of the 50 states.

The median home costs $545K, 80% above the national figure and the 5th highest among the states. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,850 a month.

Carrying costs matter as much as the price: home insurance averages $2,800 a year, flood coverage adds about $450 where it is needed, car insurance runs $2,170.

Budget $130 a month for electricity and gas, $530 a month in groceries for two, $1,600 a month for full-time infant care.

Safety, health and schools

Violent crime is 453 incidents per 100,000 residents in the FBI's 2023 Crime Data Explorer figures, above the median state (387); Colorado is the 14th most violent of the 50 by that measure. Property crime is 2,859 per 100,000.

Life expectancy is 78.8 years (County Health Rankings 2024). 7.4% of residents have no health insurance, and the state has expanded Medicaid. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks Colorado's health system 9th of 50.

Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks K-12 schools 9th in the country.

Politics, guns and social policy

Politically, Colorado is a solidly Democratic state that went to Harris by 11 points in 2024.

On guns, concealed-carry permits are shall-issue, and Giffords grades the state's gun laws A-.

Abortion is protected by state law. Marijuana is legal for adults. Colorado is not a right-to-work state, and the minimum wage is $14.42 an hour.

Climate, risk and getting around

Natural disaster risk is high. The main hazards are wildfire, blizzard, tornado. Annual average air quality index is 50 (under 50 is good).

Colorado has a major hub airport, with about 175 nonstop destinations from its busiest airport.