Can You Afford to Live in Colorado Springs?

Colorado Springs is where Pikes Peak rises 14,115 feet directly from the city's western edge. It's where Garden of the Gods — one of the most spectacular geological formations in the United States — is a free public park that residents treat like a neighborhood trail. It's where the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center calls home, creating a city with an athletic culture that is genuinely distinctive. The outdoor access here is not a marketing phrase. It is the defining fact of daily life.

Financially, Colorado Springs sits about 8% above the national average — notably more accessible than Denver, which has climbed sharply over the past decade. The median one-bedroom rent runs $1,500–$1,900 in most neighborhoods. Median home prices hover around $410,000, which is elevated but meaningfully lower than Denver's $580,000+ median. Colorado's income tax was recently reduced to a flat 4.4% — competitive but not as low as Arizona or Texas.

The city's economy has strong military and defense anchors: Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, NORAD/USNORTHCOM at Cheyenne Mountain, and the United States Air Force Academy together make Colorado Springs one of the most significant military concentrations in the country. Defense contractors and the intelligence community add substantial civilian employment. The healthcare sector through UCHealth and Centura is significant.

Colorado Springs is also attracting tech and remote workers who want Denver's mountain proximity at lower cost — and who have discovered that at an hour's drive, Denver's tech ecosystem and airport are genuinely accessible for the days when in-person matters.