(COLORADO) – A record number of residents have moved out of Colorado.
According to new data from the US Census Bureau, about 193,000 Colorado residents moved away in 2016. That’s over 10,000 more than moved away in 2015. Additionally according to the census bureau, fewer people are arriving in Colorado, from other states, than in the past.
The result of these record highs and lows has been the lowest net migration Colorado has seen in 7 years, totaling a gain of right around 30,000 residents in 2016. Meanwhile, since 2009 Colorado has grown in population size by 11%.
Back then the state hosted only 4.97 million residents, but as of 2016 over 5.54 million people live in the Centennial State.
Looking a little more locally, in 2010 Colorado Springs was hovering around population of 627,000 and last year the Springs topped 690,000.
On a side note, the latest population forecasts produced by the state demography office show that El Paso county, home to Colorado Springs, will gain 410,163 residents, a 58.6% increase, by 2050.
Moving back statewide, while Colorado is still growing, more people are leaving than in the past, but why?
As it turns out there are quite a few reasons; those who are leaving in increasing numbers say they were driven away by rising housing prices, jobs that don’t pay enough and traffic jams.
This prompted some digging, so let’s start with housing costs.
According to Trulia and Zillow average house costs have gone up.
Trulia indicates that in 2012 the median house cost around $205,000, but in August of this year it had risen to $258,000 Rising about 25%.
Zillow indicates that within the last year home values have risen almost 10% and are expected to rise about another 4% within the next year.
As for wages, according to the Colorado Department of Labor the minimum wage in Colorado has risen a dollar since January of 2016. With the passage of amendment 70 it will continue to rise until it hits 12 dollars an hour in 2020.
Meanwhile according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, the average hourly wage for the major job categories in Colorado Springs has gone from $22.89 in 2015 to $23.78 in 2016.
For comparison, the average hourly wage in the US at large for those same groupings in 2016 was $23.86.
For those of you concerned about the rising house prices, according to the Census Bureau, slower population growth could help housing markets along the front range re-balance after years of strong gains in home prices and rents and allow builders to catch up on supply shortages, especially for single-family homes.
Additional information below –
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS – 2016 INFORMATION
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS – 2015 INFORMATION
