A recent MoveBuddha study shows between 2019 and 2025, people have been 48.18% less likely to move to Colorado’s capital city. Aurora and Colorado Springs also appeared on the list at 26.9% and 19.93% less likely, respectively.
The study took into account quarterly data from 2019 to 2025 that accounted for momentum, seasonality, and longer-term shifts.
Denver7 doubled checked the data, cross referencing it with another study from the Colorado-based Common Sense Institute, and it showed a consistent trend: people are choosing not to move here.
The Common Sense Institute study, released in July, shows Colorado’s net migration (the difference between the number of people moving in and out of our state) fell 52.5% in 2025, reflecting 36,146 fewer individuals arriving in Colorado.
“This is one of the more expensive areas in terms of housing in the nation now, and that has been steadily building from the mid-2010s onward,” said DJ Summers, director of communications and research operations for the Common Sense Institute. “Inflation in the Denver Metro area has also outpaced the nation’s. So, there are a few points there that could be that could be pretty explanatory.”
Some people might be happy to hear the numbers. Denver7 has listened closely as many Denverites and Coloradans have expressed concerns of Colorado’s popularity and its impact on housing and traffic.
Summers said the decrease does pose issues for our state’s economy by hurting the job and housing markets as it attracts fewer talented people looking for jobs.
“That's not to say that Colorado's economy is not strong. It is, but it's not going to see the same kind of growth in job creation,” Summers said. “[Colorado] is not going to see the same kind of growth in gross domestic product. It's not going to see the same kind of growth in those general job and employment creation metrics.”
A recent Realtor.com study found 90% more homes are one the market in Denver, compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Summers said this change in moving habits has played directly into that lower demand for housing.
