A new study shows that Pueblo renters continue to face an uphill battle when it comes to affording their rent.
The issue seems to be a complicated mishmash of rising rental costs and lagging income.
According to a 2024 study by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, in 2023, 54.5% of Pueblo renters were cost-burdened, which means they paid 30% or more of their income on rent. That was higher than the 50.6% of Denver-area renters that are cost-burdened.
The study indicated that 30.6% of Pueblo renters had “severe” cost burdens, which means they spent more than 50% of their income on rent and utilities. By comparison, 24.7% of Denver renters have a severe cost burden.
While Pueblo rent remains lower than Denver at a median cost of $1,000 compared to $1,743 in the Denver-metro area, the big difference is the renters’ incomes. The median income for Pueblo renters is $36,500, while the median income for Denver renters is $64,000.
To put the income numbers into perspective, a worker making Colorado’s 2023 minimum wage of $13.65 would have grossed $28,392 for full-time work.