(The Center Square) – Colorado reported lower than average year-over-year change in prices in 2024, according to a new report from the state’s Legislative Council Staff.
While the national average at the end of 2024 was 2.7% inflation, Colorado’s was 2%. Colorado inflation was measured using prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan area.
Housing was the biggest reason for the difference in national and state inflation numbers. While nationally housing made up 1.8% of the contribution to inflation, in Colorado it made up just 0.4%.
That is down significantly from the peak in housing inflation in 2022, when overall inflation also peaked in Colorado at almost 10% year-over-year.
That could partly be due to a decrease in home prices in Denver in 2024, down 3% from 2022.
Still, Coloradans are seeing a significant overall rise in costs.
According to a report from the U.S. Senate’s Joint Economic Committee, Colorado ranked number one in the nation for increased costs compared to 2021.
“The average household in Colorado is paying $1,332 more per month to purchase the same basket of goods and services as in January 2021,” stated the report. “Cumulatively, the average Colorado household has spent $42,079 more due to inflation since January 2021.”
Overall, unemployment rates are beginning to tick up, both nationally and in Colorado, the state’s report found. Down from the pandemic’s 12%, Colorado’s unemployment rate is currently 4.1%.
Government jobs had one of the highest gains year-over-year in 2024 from 2023, with a 4.1% increase. The only other tracked sectors that ranked higher were “mining and logging” and “other services.”
Real personal income growth in Colorado (2.5%) was above the state’s historical average of 1.7%, but lower than the national average of 2.8%.
