Denver, Colorado had 740,613 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #21 nationally and #1 in Colorado. cost of living runs 5.8% above the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $133,615/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
Population grew 3.5% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 715,509 → 2025: 740,613 (+3.5%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
715,509
April 1, 2020
2020
717,680
July 1, 2020
2021
712,156
July 1, 2021
2022
716,800
July 1, 2022
2023
726,763
July 1, 2023
2024
741,591
July 1, 2024
2025
740,613
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 21.2% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 599,825 → 2019: 727,211 (+20.5%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
599,825
April 1, 2010
2010
603,359
July 1, 2010
2011
620,530
July 1, 2011
2012
635,163
July 1, 2012
2013
649,391
July 1, 2013
2014
664,582
July 1, 2014
2015
683,285
July 1, 2015
2016
696,159
July 1, 2016
2017
704,961
July 1, 2017
2018
716,265
July 1, 2018
2019
727,211
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in Denver?
Median household income is 22% above the U.S. median ($94,718 vs $77,719); 11.2% live in poverty — 1.3 points below the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Income and poverty estimates for Denver from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
94,718+21.9% vs US
±1,644
Per capita income
64,163+48.2% vs US
±916
Population in poverty
11.2%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 103% above the U.S. median ($616,000 vs $303,400); median rent is 36% above ($1,831 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 6.5×, making it 1.7× as cost-burdened as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Denver. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
4.4%
Denver (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
450,742
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
27.3%+95.0% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Denver sits in Denver County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Denver County
12.2%
$92,395
4.4%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Denver's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Professional and technical services (54)
78,471
$2,883 / wk
#2
Health care and social assistance (62)
54,788
$1,384 / wk
#3
Accommodation and food services (72)
52,730
$802 / wk
#4
Administrative and waste services (56)
35,910
$1,363 / wk
#5
Transportation and warehousing (48-49)
35,838
$2,076 / wk
What workers earn in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Fast Food and Counter Workers
42,620
$36,310
$17.46
Stockers and Order Fillers
33,420
$41,600
$20.00
Business Operations Specialists, All Other
28,300
$93,200
$44.81
Customer Service Representatives
28,040
$47,310
$22.74
Cashiers
26,070
$36,270
$17.44
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
25,240
$80,380
$38.64
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
39,120
$37,500
$18.03
Software Developers · benchmark
31,190
$134,120
$64.48
Registered Nurses · benchmark
29,570
$98,500
$47.36
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
24,070
$137,950
$66.32
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
15,420
$62,880
$30.23
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 5.8% above the U.S. average (RPP 105.8); rents run 46.9% above (RPP 146.9) — the metro's housing premium is the main driver.
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 105.8
+5.8% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$2,089/mo
FY2026 · Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
State income tax (top marginal rate)
4.40%
flat · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$11,135/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$5,767/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in Colorado · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
14.5% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (16.7% of residents 5+).
Where Denver's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
14.5%+3.4% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
76.1%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish16.7%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
Hottest month: July (89°F avg high). Coldest: December (19°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 15.2 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Denver from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk score: 95.2/100 — Relatively High nationally; top hazard: Hail (99.9).
Natural-hazard exposure for Denver from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI March 2023). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Denver County
95.2
Relatively High
Hail · score 99.9 · Very High
Lightning · score 98.6 · Very High
Tornado · score 97.9 · Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
26 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 90% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Denver from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
26 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
21
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
89.8%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
89.8%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
394,753
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Denver sits at state rank #1 among 272 cities in Colorado. Nearby in the state ranking:
Denver is ranked #21 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
Just above in the profiled set: Nashville, TN · #20 · 745,904 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Oklahoma City, OK · #22 · 719,849 residents.
Quick travel facts for Denver
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Denver International Airport(DEN) ·
13 mi 21 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Oct · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Denver is 0820000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page.
