Boulder, CO — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Colorado·Boulder

Boulder County · Boulder · population 106,803

Image: Wikipedia · Boulder, Colorado

Overview Cost of living Moving guide

View watchlist →

Cooling

Momentum score · 0–100

Where Boulder stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $970,905

1-year -1.8%

5-yr CAGR +2.7%

vs 5-yr peak -9.3%

Population -0.3%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly

Lifestyle scores

🚶

Walkability

52/100

Somewhat walkable

Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.

🚉

Public transit

30/100

Minimal transit

Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.

💻

Remote work fit

57/100

Workable for remote workers

Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 33.0

Rent

At a 33.0 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Boulder for most shorter holds. The premium you pay to own would take many years of rent savings to recoup, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and opportunity cost on the down payment.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →

Home YoY

41 · w22%

Home 5-yr CAGR

51 · w22%

Distance from peak

47 · w18%

Population growth

40 · w16%

Rent YoY

54 · w12%

Home 10-yr CAGR

58 · w10%

Long thesis

Boulder has held up across the cycle: home values at $970,905 with +2.7% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Boulder carries a $970,905 median home with only -1.8% YoY. Premium pricing in a flat tape is the bear setup — you're paying for the trend that already ran while new buyers can't afford to extend it.

About Boulder

Boulder is a city in Boulder County, Colorado, with an estimated population of 106,803. The median home value in Boulder is $970,905 as of 2026-04, down 1.8% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.7% annual growth (-9.3% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Boulder average $2,449 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+1.3%). The composite momentum score is 47 of 100 (Cooling). Buyers may find more room to negotiate; sellers should price realistically.

▲ Bull case

○The data is the data: Boulder has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 1-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Expensive AND not growing: median home $970,905 with only -1.8% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.

●Flat or shrinking population: -0.3% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.

About Boulder (Wikipedia)

Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat of, and the most populous municipality in, Boulder County, Colorado, United States. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 census, it is the 12th-most populous city in Colorado. Boulder is the primary city of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had 330,758 residents in 2020, and is part of the Front Range Urban Corridor.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorAaron Brockett

Elevation5319 ft

Settled1858 as Boulder City

Density4,112/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

You have leverage. Negotiate price, ask for closing-cost credits, and don't waive inspection. Walk-away power is real in a Cooling market — use it.

Seller

Price aggressively (at or below recent sold comps) or be prepared to wait. Concessions — rate buydowns, closing costs, repair credits — are how deals close right now.

Investor

Cap rates are more attractive than they were 12 months ago but the appreciation tailwind is gone. Confirm tenant demand, vacancy rates, and exit liquidity before committing capital.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Boulder County right now.

NWS active alerts (CO)Colorado Emergency Management How to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Boulder County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Boulder

48 tracked · ranked by median home value

1Juniper – Kalmia$2,892,098+6.3%

2Carolyn Heights$2,436,949-1.8%

3Grant$2,418,808+3.1%

4East Chautauqua$1,859,938+4.4%

5Newlands$1,717,658+0.9%

6North Wonderland$1,644,582-1.8%

7Orchard Park$1,613,039-2.0%

8Moores$1,597,699-3.1%

9Crestview$1,596,535+0.9%

10Wonderland Hills$1,580,680-0.5%

11Flatirons$1,537,699+3.1%

12Devil's Thumb$1,459,581-0.0%

13Forest Glen$1,437,949-2.0%

14Four Mile Creek$1,424,132-0.9%

15Table Mesa North$1,416,325+0.7%

16University Hill$1,385,770+1.6%

17Hillcrest – Panorama Heights$1,370,371-1.1%

18Catalpa Park$1,350,046+2.6%

19Mapleton Hill$1,315,062-2.7%

20West Hawthorn$1,262,252-0.5%

21Norwood – Quince$1,218,571-2.1%

22Table Mesa South$1,173,973-2.3%

23Old North Boulder$1,157,445-2.2%

24East Foothills$1,146,554-1.3%

See the full neighborhood ranking →

Cities like Boulder

Arvada, CO46 · Cooling Centennial, CO48 · Stable Lakewood, CO47 · Cooling Fort Collins, CO57 · Stable

Run the numbers for Boulder

ToolCan I afford Boulder?Income → city shortlist ToolROI on a Boulder rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR ToolCompare Boulder to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 cities ToolBoulder cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)

43° / 16°

avg high / low

Summer (Jul)

86° / 56°

avg high / low

Sunny days/yr

245

~67% of year

Annual precip

17″ rain

55″ snow

Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)

Hurricane

Very low

Tornado

Moderate

Wildfire

High

Earthquake

Low

Flood

Low

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Boulder area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

NFLDenver Broncos →

NBADenver Nuggets →

MLBColorado Rockies →

NHLColorado Avalanche →

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Boulder listings on the major real-estate sites.

For rent

Zillow rentals → Apartments.com → Trulia rentals →

For sale

Zillow for sale → Realtor.com →

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Latest news

City Expands Effort to Remove Eurasian Watermilfoil from Boulder Reservoir
City of Boulder (.gov) · 15h ago
Tyler Childers Folsom Field Show Moving to Fiddler's Green Amphiteatre – University of Colorado Athletics
University of Colorado Athletics · 5h ago
Boulder’s Dog of the Day: Swimming at Coot Lake in Boulder, Colorado
aboutboulder.com · 6h ago
Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes land pair of 2027 commits
Daily Camera · 5h ago
Congressional panel probes Denver, Boulder over ICE cooperation limits
Denver Gazette · 2h ago
City of Boulder And Boulder County Share Recommended Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan
Yellow Scene Magazine · 8h ago

Local economy & environment

Humidity

54%

Dry climate

Median household income

$87,600

Colorado state median

Top industries (state-level)

TechAerospaceHealthcare

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.