How Much You Need to Make to Be a 1 Percenter Where You Live in Colorado

A recent study reveals how much money is required to break into the top 1 percent by income in cities and counties across Colorado, and the numbers at the top of the charts are eye-popping.

To climb into the lower reaches of the 1 percent in the top metro area, a resident must bring home more than $800,000 – and breaching that barrier in the priciest county requires in excess of $1.3 million per annum.

These digits can be found in “The New Guilded Age,” from the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute, our source for a post identifying Colorado places with the greatest income inequality.

As authors Estelle Sommeiller and Mark Price point out, the gap between the richest and the rest has widened in all fifty states since the 1970s, and this scenario has gotten worse in almost every state since 2009, the dawn of the Great Recession. In 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, an American family in the top 1 percent benefited from approximately 26 times more income than folks in the bottom 99 percent.

The threshold for entry into the 1 percent varies widely from place to place within Colorado. In four of the seventeen Colorado metros analyzed by the institute, those who live there can become 1 percenters with incomes of less than $300,000. In contrast, the top six communities, including the Denver area, require incomes above $500,000 to achieve this designation.

The differences are even greater at the county level. People who live in seven Colorado counties need an income under $200,000 to hit the 1 percenter target. But in the six priciest counties, 1 percenters need more than $750,000 for membership in this exclusive club.

Below, we’ve focused on all seventeen Colorado metros (out of 916 across the country) and the 57 Colorado counties (from a total of 3,061) included in the institute’s analysis. The items include the 1 percenter threshold for each location and its national ranking, ordered from lowest to highest.

As you’ll see, entry into the 1 percent tends to take fewer dollars in rural communities and counties. The amounts go up in major metros and ski/resort towns.

Note that the threshold in the biggest buck Colorado county is the fifth most expensive in the entire country. Get the details below.

INCOME THRESHOLD OF TOP 1 PERCENT FOR COLORADO METROPOLITAN AREAS

Number 17: Cañon City

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $223,428
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 715


Number 16: Craig

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $234,901
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 653

Number 15: Pueblo

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $235,752
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 645

Number 14: Montrose

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $254,061
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 546

Number 13: Fort Morgan

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $256,883
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 532

Number 12: Sterling

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $314,020
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 329

Number 11: Grand Junction

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $316,997
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 321

Number 10: Colorado Springs

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $357,847
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 216

Number 9: Greeley

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $379,213
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 175

Number 8: Durango

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $473,783
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 70

Number 7: Fort Collins

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $495,765
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 56

Number 6: Denver-Aurora-Lakewood

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $567,862
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 36

Number 5: Breckenridge

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $705,417
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 17

Number 4: Glenwood Springs

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $753,438
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 14

Number 3: Steamboat Springs

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $763,584
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 13

Number 2: Boulder

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $778,444
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 12

Number 1: Edwards

City income threshold of top 1 percent: $817,125
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 10


INCOME THRESHOLD OF TOP 1 PERCENT OF COLORADO COUNTIES

Number 57: Crowley County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $168,649
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,808

Number 56: Costilla County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $170,053
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,801

Number 55: Otero County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $175,420
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,734

Number 54: Saguache County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $175,501
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,731

Number 53: Conejos County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $181,737
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,641

Number 52: Bent County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $183,299
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,624

Number 51: Baca County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $192,228
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,468

Number 50: Lake County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $200,272
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,323

Number 49: Huerfano County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $200,278
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,322

Number 48: Prowers County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $209,867
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,151

Number 47: Washington County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $216,806
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,025

Number 46: Las Animas County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $222,588
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,937

Number 45: Fremont county

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $223,428
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,918

Number 44: Delta County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $227,057
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,856

Number 43: Sedgwick County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $231,074
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,797

Number 42: Moffat County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $234,901
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,733

Number 41: Pueblo County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $235,752
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,720

Number 40: Lincoln County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $243,892
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,590

Number 39: Alamosa County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $247,622
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,527

Number 38: Montrose County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $254,061
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,438

Number 37: Morgan County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $256,883
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,396

Number 36: Rio Blanco County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $257,143
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,391

Number 35: Kit Carson County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $260,007
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,349

Number 34: Rio Grande County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $264,699
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,280

Number 33: Montezuma County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $277,391
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,147

Number 32: Park County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $280,562
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,118

Number 31: Adams County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $297,963
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 947

Number 30: Teller County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $308,678
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 869

Number 29: Logan County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $314,020
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 823

Number 28: Mesa County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $316,997
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 802

Number 27: Gilpin County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $322,742
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 764

Number 26: Phillips County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $329,740
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 706

Number 25: Custer County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $331,175
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 695

Number 24: Chaffee County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $336,711
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 666

Number 23: Yuma County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $358,722
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 554

Number 22: El Paso County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $359,670
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 550

Number 21: Archuleta County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $362,310
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 537

Number 20: Weld County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $379,213
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 458

Number 19: Gunnison County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $393,514
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 398

Number 18: Clear Creek County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $462,750
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 238

Number 17: Grand County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $464,370
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 232

Number 16: La Plata County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $473,783
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 215

Number 15: Larimer County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $495,765
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 187

Number 14: Elbert County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $498,103
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 183

Number 13: Garfield County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $499,017
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 181

Number 12: Ouray County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $499,128
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 180

Number 11: Jefferson County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $506,513
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 174

Number 10: Broomfield County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $543,709
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 146

Number 9: Arapahoe County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $583,532
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 123

Number 8: Denver County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $608,477
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 110

Number 7: Summit County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $705,417
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 70

Number 6: Routt County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $763,584
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 50

Number 5: Boulder County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $778,444
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 48

Number 4: Eagle County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $817,125
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 42

Number 3: Douglas County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $824,027
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 41

Number 2: San Miguel County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $923,765
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 24

Number 1: Pitkin County

County income threshold of top 1 percent: $1,366,427
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 5