Metro area · Colorado

Boulder, CO metro area

Boulder, CO is a metropolitan area of 1 county in Colorado, home to 328,560 residents. Boulder, CO metro area has a quality-of-life score of 92 out of 100 (very high), ranking #74 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Colorado it ranks #4 of 17. It ranks best on adult obesity (low), physical inactivity (low) and bachelor's degree or higher (high). It ranks worst on high ozone days (high), home price to income ratio (high) and rent-burdened households (high).

92Very high
Quality-of-life score
#74 of 925 metro and micro areas
Colorado
#4 of 17 in CO
Population
328,560 (2025)
Land area
726 mi²
Density
452.3 /mi²
CBSA code
14500

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 66 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Boulder, CO metro area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety65#322/924
  • Economy84#145/925
  • Housing5#882/925
  • Health98#23/925
  • Healthcare100#2/923
  • Environment63#338/917
  • Education100#5/925
  • Infrastructure99#13/925
  • Community84#152/925
  • Leisure & amenities89#102/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Boulder, CO metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Metro and micro areas like Boulder, CO metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Boulder, CO metro area in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Boulder, CO

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Boulder CountyCentral county88328,560

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. BoulderPrincipal city106,433

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Boulder106,433
  2. Longmont99,406
  3. Lafayette30,602
  4. Louisville20,786
  5. Superior13,305
  6. Gunbarrel10,051
  7. Niwot3,447
  8. Lyons1,838
  9. Nederland1,655
  10. Allenspark825
  11. Lazy Acres778
  12. Paragon Estates667
  13. Altona587
  14. Pine Brook Hill543
  15. Sugarloaf474
  16. Eldora465
  17. St. Ann Highlands453
  18. Tall Timber382
  19. Sunshine330
  20. Jamestown324
  21. Eldorado Springs320
  22. Crisman268
  23. Bark Ranch199
  24. Seven Hills183

Other metro and micro areas in Colorado

Areas based in Colorado, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

JSON · /api/v1/places/M14500