City Lifestyle Index
Colorado · CITY LIFESTYLE

Denver

Outdoor-oriented, casual and sunshine-heavy city living with the Rocky Mountains shaping weekend culture.

Verified lifestyle score62.1Average
2025 population740,613
Annual change-0.13%
State population rank#1
Median income$94,718
Median home$616,000
Average rent$1,831
ClimateClimate Index 56.28
LIFESTYLE SNAPSHOT

What everyday life can look like in Denver

Editorial lifestyle notes sit beside source-backed metrics so the page reads like a place to live, not just a dataset.

Everyday vibe61/100

Outdoor-oriented, casual and sunshine-heavy city living with the Rocky Mountains shaping weekend culture.

Culture & food67/100

A growing food, arts, brewery and live-event scene paired with a practical Western city feel.

Outdoors & nature61/100

Mountain recreation is the defining regional advantage, complemented by urban trails and parks.

Getting around64/100

Central areas are increasingly bike- and transit-friendly, but regional recreation and many commutes still favor a car.

Weekend rhythm56/100

Trail days, skiing or climbing trips, breweries, parks, sports and neighborhood dining.

Best lifestyle fit67/100

Mountain access • active lifestyles • sunshine

CITY PERSONALITY

What living here leans toward

Career Driven77Remote Friendly71Family Grounded67Culture Rich67Nature First61
Great forMountain access • active lifestyles • sunshine
What it feels likeOutdoor-oriented, casual and sunshine-heavy city living with the Rocky Mountains shaping weekend culture.
A DAY IN THE LIFE

Picture an ordinary weekend

Trail days, skiing or climbing trips, breweries, parks, sports and neighborhood dining.

08:00Start local12:30Neighborhood life17:30Outside or unwind20:30Food, culture or home
RELOCATION PLANNER

Thinking about moving here?

Use this local checklist to turn browsing into a decision process. Progress is saved on this device.

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VERIFIED LIFESTYLE SCORE

15-metric city lifestyle record

Every score exposes its raw value, source date, geography, validity, confidence and normalization method.

15/15metrics
100.0% coverage82.6% average confidence62.1 overall score
Verified

Cost of Living

44.7/100

Cost of Living Index: 75.32

Reference date
2026-02-20
Geography
City proper
Confidence
72.0%
How this score was calculated

Normalized score = clamp(120 − Numbeo Cost of Living Index, 0, 100). A lower cost index produces a higher lifestyle score.

Dataset: Numbeo Quality of Life Current City Indices
Derived

Housing

55.0/100

$616,000 median home value / $94,718 median household income = 6.50×

Reference date
2020–2024
Geography
City proper
Confidence
94.0%
How this score was calculated

Raw ratio = median owner-occupied housing value ÷ median household income. Normalized score = clamp(100 − (ratio − 2) × 10, 0, 100).

Dataset: QuickFacts 2020–2024 ACS estimates
Verified

Safety

52.0/100

Safety Index: 51.96

Reference date
2026-02-20
Geography
City proper
Confidence
70.0%
How this score was calculated

Uses Numbeo's city Safety Index directly on a 0–100 scale. Community-contributed index; interpret alongside official local crime data.

Dataset: Numbeo Quality of Life Current City Indices
Derived

Job Market

76.8/100

Labor-force participation: 74.2%

Reference date
2020–2024
Geography
City proper
Confidence
92.0%
How this score was calculated

Normalized score = clamp((labor-force participation − 55) ÷ 25 × 100, 0, 100). This is a participation proxy, not an unemployment rate.

Dataset: QuickFacts 2020–2024 ACS estimates
Derived

Income

58.5/100

Median household income: $94,718

Reference date
2020–2024
Geography
City proper
Confidence
95.0%
How this score was calculated

Normalized score = clamp((median household income − $45,000) ÷ $85,000 × 100, 0, 100). Values are not adjusted for the city's cost of living in this metric.

Dataset: QuickFacts 2020–2024 ACS estimates
Derived

Education

66.4/100

Bachelor's degree or higher: 56.5%

Reference date
2020–2024
Geography
City proper
Confidence
95.0%
How this score was calculated

Normalized score = clamp((bachelor's attainment − 20) ÷ 55 × 100, 0, 100).

Dataset: QuickFacts 2020–2024 ACS estimates
Derived

Healthcare

89.9/100

Residents under 65 without health insurance: 10.1%

Reference date
2020–2024
Geography
City proper
Confidence
94.0%
How this score was calculated

Normalized score = 100 − uninsured share under age 65. This reflects insurance coverage, not care quality or access by itself.

Dataset: QuickFacts 2020–2024 ACS estimates
Derived

Transportation

64.3/100

Mean commute 24.9 min; Transit Score 44.6

Reference date
2020–2024 commute; 2021 Transit Score
Geography
City proper
Confidence
82.0%
How this score was calculated

Composite = 55% commute-time score + 45% Transit Score. Commute score = clamp((45 − mean commute minutes) ÷ 25 × 100, 0, 100).

Dataset: QuickFacts ACS + Walk Score city rankings
Stale

Walkability

61.2/100

Walk Score: 61.2

Reference date
2021 city ranking
Geography
City proper
Confidence
72.0%
How this score was calculated

Uses the published Walk Score city ranking directly on a 0–100 scale. Marked stale because the referenced ranking vintage is 2021.

Dataset: Walk Score City & Neighborhood Rankings
Verified

Climate

56.3/100

Climate Index: 56.28

Reference date
2026-02-20
Geography
City proper
Confidence
70.0%
How this score was calculated

Uses Numbeo's Climate Index directly. The index summarizes comfort-oriented temperature and humidity conditions; it is not a climate-risk score.

Dataset: Numbeo Quality of Life Current City Indices
Derived

Air Quality

55.1/100

Pollution Index: 44.89

Reference date
2026-02-20
Geography
City proper
Confidence
66.0%
How this score was calculated

Normalized score = 100 − Numbeo Pollution Index. This is a broad community-contributed pollution measure and should later be supplemented with EPA monitor data.

Dataset: Numbeo Quality of Life Current City Indices
Derived

Entertainment

66.5/100

Accommodation & food-service sales: $5.67B ($7,655 per resident)

Reference date
2022 Economic Census measure
Geography
City proper
Confidence
86.0%
How this score was calculated

Proxy score from accommodation and food-service sales per resident. Normalized score = clamp((sales per resident − $3,000) ÷ $7,000 × 100, 0, 100).

Dataset: QuickFacts accommodation and food services sales
Derived

Family Friendly

67.2/100

Under 18: 18.0%; poverty: 11.2%; insured under 65: 89.9%

Reference date
2020–2024
Geography
City proper
Confidence
88.0%
How this score was calculated

Composite = 45% child-population presence + 35% inverse poverty + 20% insurance coverage. This is a broad readiness indicator, not a school-quality rating.

Dataset: QuickFacts 2020–2024 ACS estimates
Derived

Remote Work

70.9/100

Broadband subscription: 92.9%; bachelor's+: 56.5%

Reference date
2020–2024
Geography
City proper
Confidence
91.0%
How this score was calculated

Composite = 55% broadband readiness + 45% educational attainment. Broadband is normalized over 80–98%; bachelor's attainment over 25–70%.

Dataset: QuickFacts 2020–2024 ACS estimates
Derived

Outdoor Lifestyle

61.4/100

Climate 56.28; Bike Score 71.8; air-quality score 55.1

Reference date
2026-02-20; 2021 Bike Score
Geography
City proper
Confidence
72.0%
How this score was calculated

Composite = 40% climate index + 35% Bike Score + 25% inverse pollution score. It measures outdoor convenience, not park acreage or trail access.

Dataset: Numbeo Quality of Life + Walk Score

Denver research baseline

Denver is ranked #1 by 2025 population among the places included for Colorado in this research pack. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population at 740,613 on July 1, 2025.

Recent population movement

Compared with the 2024 estimate, the population decreased by approximately 0.13%. Population change is only one part of a lifestyle decision and should not be treated as a complete quality-of-life score.

What this profile is prepared to track

The page is structured for verified affordability, housing, jobs, safety, education, healthcare, transportation, climate, entertainment, and environmental data. Until those metrics are entered and sourced, the profile is labeled as a research baseline rather than given a synthetic lifestyle score.

Data vintage: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 population estimates. Figures may be revised by the Census Bureau in a later release.