Colorado ranks as one of the most expensive states to live in when you include high-dollar resort communities like Aspen and Vail or some of the pricier communities around Denver and Boulder. You’ll find much more affordable cities and towns elsewhere in the Centennial State, though they might not be ideal for retirees because of a lack of amenities.
A recent GOBankingRates study looked at each state to determine how long $1 million would last you in retirement. In Colorado, $1 million would last you an average of 16 years, two months and four days. That ranked it as the 16th most expensive state for retirees with a $1 million nest egg.
Here’s how the costs broke down:
- Annual groceries cost: $4,979
- Annual housing cost: $13,691
- Annual utilities cost: $3,944
- Annual transportation cost: $5,254
- Annual healthcare cost: $7,465
- Total annual expenditures: $61,807
When you break those annual expenditures down further, they come to about $5,150 a month. But plenty of municipalities in Colorado will cost you a whole lot more than that. A separate GBR study that looked at costs in thousands of U.S. communities found that average monthly expenditures in Aspen are a whopping $56,746 — the second highest in the country behind Palm Beach, Florida.
Much of Aspen’s expense is based on an average monthly mortgage of about $55,000, which means many homes are priced at $10 million or above. Other ultra-expensive Colorado communities include Mountain Village ($36,542 a month), Snowmass Village ($31,458) and Telluride ($29,715).
Obviously, you need to be wealthy to retire in any of those places. But there are also dozens of less expensive communities that are still out of reach for most U.S. retirees.
Following are 15 Colorado cities where retirement is unaffordable based on GBR’s analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sperlings BestPlaces, AreaVibes, Zillow Home Value Index and the Federal Reserve. All cities listed have average living expenses above $6,000 a month.
Dillon
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,703
- Average monthly mortgage: $6,568
- Monthly cost of living: $8,271
Sedalia
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,888
- Average monthly mortgage: $5,250
- Monthly cost of living: $7,138
Meridian
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,836
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,679
- Monthly cost of living: $6,515
Estes Park
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,773
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,748
- Monthly cost of living: $6,521
Lyons
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,827
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,605
- Monthly cost of living: $6,432
Durango
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,701
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,657
- Monthly cost of living: $6,358
Highlands Ranch
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,863
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,422
- Monthly cost of living: $6,285
Erie
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,805
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,474
- Monthly cost of living: $6,279
Monument
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,787
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,463
- Monthly cost of living: $6,250
Lafayette
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,799
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,434
- Monthly cost of living: $6,234
Morrison
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,874
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,268
- Monthly cost of living: $6,142
Parker
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,880
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,255
- Monthly cost of living: $6,135
Gypsum
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,749
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,386
- Monthly cost of living: $6,135
Elizabeth
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,930
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,130
- Monthly cost of living: $6,060
Ouray
- Average monthly expenditures: $1,756
- Average monthly mortgage: $4,288
- Monthly cost of living: $6,044
More From GOBankingRates
- 9 Cars To Stay Away From In Retirement
- 5 Reasons Retirees Regret Selling Their Homes in Retirement
- 5 Genius Things People With Healthy Savings Do
- 5 Myths About Debt That Nobody Should Believe in 2024
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Why You Won’t Be Able To Afford Retiring in These 15 Cities in Colorado
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
