Denver Gazette’s Noah Festenstein reports that metro Denver’s net in-migration has plunged nearly 70%, from about 43,450 new residents in 2015 to just 13,193 in 2025, citing a Common Sense Institute study and Colorado State Demography Office data .
The Bullet Point Brief
- Net Migration Nosedive: Metro Denver drew 43,450 newcomers in 2015, but only 13,193 in 2025—a 69.7% collapse in appeal over a decade .
- Affordability Apocalypse: Housing costs and living expenses are crushing Denver’s allure, with CSI blaming sky-high prices, not a single bad taco, for the exodus .
- Aging & Economy: Fewer young workers mean tighter labor markets and heavier burdens on public services as Colorado’s grey hair brigade balloons .
- Outpaced by Rivals: While Denver stumbles, Salt Lake City’s net migration jumped 1,800% and Phoenix climbed 25%—Denver’s too busy rewriting zoning codes to compete .
- Policy Paralysis: Denver’s answer? More “affordable housing” pledges. But until Dems face the spending dragon and slash red tape, people will vote with their moving vans .
My Bottom Line
Is anyone surprised? Denver’s become a joy-sucking vortex of soaring rents, soaring crime, and half-baked leftist fixes. Sure, murders dipped 11% in 2024—but they’re still 3% above pre-pandemic highs, and aggravated assaults are up 31% since 2019—charm city indeed (Axios). Meanwhile, Weld County is sprinting to the top with nearly 14% annualized growth and over 9,000 new residents between 2023–24, thanks to sane taxes, cheaper homes, and policies that actually reward ambition (worldpopulationreview.com) Liberal spending binges and red-tape mania turned Denver into an urban headache; conservative restraint built Weld into Opportunity Central. If you want growth, cut taxes and quit the nanny state act.
I’m concerned that weld county housing keeps taking over prime farm ground and are they going to bring Denver’s voting habits.
Understood. But that ground is willingly being sold to a developer by the owner of the ground. Are jurisdictions (municipalities) to deny the person who owns that property from doing with it as they choose? That infringes on the concept of private property rights. I should write an article about this quandary – one I see every day.