Colorado’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the country. At 2.3%, Colorado is at what most economists would consider full employment. Driving around the metro area, there’s no doubt that Denver is booming. Cranes dot the skyline. Increased traffic, while a bane, is another sign of the growth — and growing pains — of Denver today.
Not to sound the alarm, but can this skyrocketing rate of growth be sustained?
Long-time residents know that this is a state of boom and bust, from mining and oil highs to crashes and depressions. Are new cracks starting to show? According to an Apartment List study cited by the Denver Post, two out of three renters in the metro area see their future in a different city. Rent here has gotten too expensive. Rising property values also mean that while millennials may do a Denver stint, when they’re ready to settle down they’ll move to where the average home isn’t around $400,000.
The irony is that many of those who have come to Colorado did so because their hometowns became too expensive. They sought affordability and a higher quality of life. If metro Denver loses that affordability, these same people will likely pick up and move to a new more affordable area. The same would apply for businesses that may no longer be able to afford commercial rents or buy their premises. As for quality of life, the traffic is certainly putting a dent in that.
As Robert Frost put it: “Nothing gold can stay.” Is metro Denver in danger of becoming the new San Francisco, a city people and businesses can no longer afford?
Copyright © 2017 by the Intermountain Jewish News
