Denver vs Colorado Springs...which is better? It's a common inquiry for those who are debating on which city to make home. If you’re debating on whether you would like to live in either Denver vs Colorado Springs, then this blog is for you. Learn the cost of living, housing, average annual salaries, weather, and more.
Depending on your personality type, you may sway one city more than the other. The reason I say that is because the cities are very different from each other. Denver is like the older sibling and Colorado Springs is fast growing behind Denver. But it really just depends on your preferred lifestyle. Though they have common features like plenty of hiking space and mountains, they both also have individual characteristics that may appeal to you differently. You might be wondering which city is cheaper to live in or which city gets more snow? You may be wondering which city is better in general. Today we’ll be talking about unemployment rates, average salary, culture, and the population between the two and some interesting facts so make sure you stay till the end.
Denver and Colorado Springs are the 2 largest cities in Colorado. Denver is the capital of Colorado and has 19th century buildings and home to the philanthropist "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" from the world famous Titanic. This home is now a beautiful museum at 1340 Pennsylvania street so if you’re in the area, check it out. Denver is pretty big as it’s the most populous city in Colorado and its nickname is “Mile High City” due to being just that. The 13th step of the Mile High City is exactly 5,280 feet above sea level, which makes it feel warmer because you’re literally closer to the sun. Denver apparently has secret underground bunkers and airport conspiracies and what’s up with Blucifer?
Colorado Springs is known as being a resort town and therefore highly tourable and was a huge part of the gold rush in the 1800s which gave us the nickname, “The City of Millionaires.” But we were also called “Little London” and now “Olympic City”. Well which one is it?!
And, our air is so fresh here, we ended up saving many lives from tuberculosis. The combination of fresh air and our high altitude made this place a haven for people seeking medical care, but escapees like Doc Holliday came to rest his lungs here, too, according to history.com.
But I know you didn’t click on this to learn about history. You clicked on it to know the differences between the two cities. I’m from Colorado Springs so I’m a bit partial to it, but I do love to visit Denver. I like visiting larger cities but I don’t like living there. Denver has so much construction and it’s been that way for many years.
Unemployment Rates
Unemployment rates in both Denver and Colorado Springs according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is 4.8%. That’s a number trending downward, and that’s a good thing. So there’s no big difference there if you’re concerned about unemployment rates for each city.
Average Salaries
The average annual salary for Denver, Colorado is $80,000 per CareerBuilder, while Colorado Springs average annual salary is closer to $63,000, which is under the national average. Not a good look for us, especially since housing is at an all time high. But we have excuses for this! Our city grew too fast and the salaries haven’t caught up. Like Denver’s salary is higher, but the cost of living is also higher. Our cost of living is lower than many larger cities. But I won’t get into that because I made a post about it here.
Average home prices
CAR data shows the average sales price of homes in Colorado has climbed 10.7% since last year to $678,755. The average home price in Colorado Springs is $510,180 at the time of this recording, which may go up or down if I waited too long to post this .
In an article I read the home for sale they shared was this one on Newton, but it's clearly overpriced. Look, there's no garage and it's only 980 square feet for $574,000. The covered patio is cute, but it's a much older home with very little space. When you compare the price to a home in Colorado Springs, you get a lot more house for the money. But, you don't get all the fun stuff Denver has. That's why people like to move to large cities, for the lifestyle. People don't pay thousands of dollars a month to live in New York to have nothing to do. You're also paying for a lifestyle experience which leads me to living in Denver vs Colorado Springs regarding things to do.
Living in Denver vs Living in Colorado Springs
If you plan on doing a lot of concert hopping and attending Nuggets and Broncos games, or if you're into the arts and architectural magic, then Denver is great for you. Colorado Springs has samples of this stuff, but since Denver is a much bigger city so this is at scale for them. We have smaller teams and stadiums like the Switchbacks at Weidner field and the Rocky Mountain Vibes, formerly known as the Sky Sox who moved to another city.
Denver has MeowWolf, large museums, larger concert venues, more traffic, more construction, more people, and higher taxes, but still below the national average. The Denver zoo is great, it’s different from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, but we definitely have the best award winning zoo. Colorado Springs has more nature attractions that tourists love to see such as 7-Falls, Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs, Cave of the Winds, and a cute little place called Old Colorado City, so if you’re a more visually stimulated person who likes to zen out in God’s creation, you might like Colorado Springs better. But if you’re into the nightlife and you like clubs and crowded places, Denver is for you. My neighbors don’t like a lot of noise after 10pm. But Colorado Springs has nothing on the clubs and parties in Denver. Some people think Colorado Springs is boring, but I like the peacefulness it brings. But when I do feel like I want to experience more of that busy city lifestyle, I can just drive up there. It usually takes about 90 minutes depending on traffic. So what type of lifestyle do you prefer? Would you rather live near all the action or near nature? Let me know in the comments!
Population and Size
Denver is the 19th most populous city with like 14 or so suburbs and significant archaeological differences. The Denver airport is international and huge compared to Colorado Springs which only flies to about ten popular cities. Colorado Springs 39th most populous in the US.
Weather in Denver vs Colorado Springs
Snow tends to hit Denver first and then travels down to Colorado Springs. So we know that the big storms are coming for sure once we see the snowfall in Denver, but generally the weather and snow are similar to Colorado Springs. We both have mostly sunshine and blue skies throughout the year and a few showers and snow storms as well.
Before I forget, grab a free and complete relocation guide to Colorado Springs, and get that safe download immediately. No need to wait for an email that may never appear just to get your info...and don’t forget to subscribe.
Not everything appeals to everyone, so I can’t really say which city is better. Some prefer Denver and some prefer Colorado Springs. Think about what lifestyle you want to live and go from there. Remember, if you can’t decide, Denver is just 70 miles away from Colorado Springs so you can visit either. So what other kinds of things about Colorado Living do you guys want to know about? Let me know in the comments if there’s anything you’d like to know about or see and I’ll do my best to make those videos. So now that you’ve learned about Denver vs Colorado Springs, you may want to know a little bit more of my market, which is El Paso County. Watch the playlist on the different Colorado Springs neighborhoods. I appreciate you being here today, you guys are amazing! My name is Iris, helping you build wealth through homeownership. See you next week.
Need help finding the perfect area to live?
IRIS BURTON
PROSPERITY GROUP
Brokered by eXp
Colorado Springs, CO REALTOR®
https://www.irisburton.com/
irisjburton@gmail.com
719.315.5016
﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋
✩ Follow on Social ✩
✅ Subscribe for all things real estate in Colorado Springs and more!
✅ https://facebook.com/iris.coloradosprings
✅ https://instagram.com/iris.coloradosprings