Most expensive states to live in? Colorado is not even in the top 10. (Pueblo: low income, real estate)

[Viper2]

Just thought I would post links to these articles/answers since it seems that many people post on these boards asking how expensive Colorado is to live in and they often get much exaggerated answers. Yes, the data in these links varies, but one thing that stays consistent is that Colorado is not mentioned.

News Headlines

The Most Expensive Places to Live in the USA - Top 5 Most Expensive Places to Live in the United States (http://www.askdeb.com/personal-finance/places/expensive/ - broken link)

What are the 20 most expensive states to live in the United States ? - Yahoo! Answers (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080419191917AAOCPTH - broken link)

What are the top 10 most expensive states to live in? | ChaCha Answers

[jazzlover]

What none mention is the cost of living vs. what local incomes are. In that realm, Colorado does not fare so well--not the worst, but far from the best.

[Viper2]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

What none mention is the cost of living vs. what local incomes are. In that realm, Colorado does not fare so well--not the worst, but far from the best.

Nice try.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Viper2

Nice try.

Considering I do some of that type of economic research as part of my work, I do believe that I know what I'm talking about. Sorry if it's an "inconvenient truth" for you.

(And, if you are who I think you are, you are still writing opinions about a state that you do not live in, and have only visited once or twice . . . )

[mquest123]

Cost of living versus income...

The big word here is INCOME. If you know what your income would be in almost any given area of the country then you can safely predict your standard of living.

Some people even in Pueblo make good money.

[Viper2]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Considering I do some of that type of economic research as part of my work, I do believe that I know what I'm talking about. Sorry if it's an "inconvenient truth" for you.

(And, if you are who I think you are, you are still writing opinions about a state that you do not live in, and have only visited once or twice . . . )

[The Homogenizer]

Income Data - State Median Income - U.S Census Bureau

The Census Bureau suggests that the low income claims are false.

[Viper2]

Originally Posted by The Homogenizer

Income Data - State Median Income - U.S Census Bureau

The Census Bureau suggests that the low income claims are false.

Thanks for posting that.

[jazzlover]

Here's a little statistics lesson: Medians can be useful information, but one needs to look at the distribution of cases observed to understand the whole picture. Take these two examples: The median is the same in both:

Example No. 1:

10
15
20
25
30

Example no. 2:

1
3
20
50
5,000

Now, let's say Example no. 1 represents living costs and No. 2 represents incomes. Looking at only the medians it would indicate that living costs and expenses were "in balance"--median income of 20 and median living cost of 20. But, if one looks at the whole picture, one could infer that if one makes the median or above, one's living costs are likely to be quite affordable, but if one'e income is less than 20, one's living costs would essentially be unaffordable for the income.

Colorado's problem is that there are numerous areas of the state where there is just such an abnormal distribution of incomes vs. living expense. Living costs, especially for housing are quite high, and local incomes are very unevenly distributed with a huge gap between the quite affluent (usually deriving their income from elsewhere) and the "worker bees", whose locally-based incomes tend to be quite low.

Aside from all of the statistics, which are just a snapshot in time, one must also look at things in a historical perspective: Colorado reached the zenith of its wealth for the last three-quarters of a century in about 2008 on the back of the speculative real estate bubble that fueled most of the income and wealth growth in the state in the last 20 years. As that bubble collapses, as it is starting to (again, Colorado economic trends frequently trail those of the rest of the US), a lot of that "paper" wealth will disappear. Colorado's income stats are likely to look much more dismal in the years ahead. One must remember that the Colorado economy is based on a relatively meager industrial base, a tourist and recreation sector heavily reliant on abundant discretionary incomes, and a ton of government spending. None of those are sectors that have a particular shiny future, anymore. The rest is based on mineral extraction, which--aside from natural gas--has been stagnant to declining for a couple of decades now, agriculture--which has seen its most critical resource in this arid region, water, under continuing expropriation, and a wholesale/retail trade economy reliant on the economic health of the entire region.

Of course, people who have no historical perspective on the state, have little firsthand knowledge of its economy or demographics, and read only superficial statistics know none of that. As for myself, I pretty much know the economic profile of every county in the state, can probably tell you who the major employers are in every county, know which parts of the economy are growing or faltering, and I have pretty solid opinions of what the prognosis for a lot of those places and sectors are based on several decades of first-hand experience and observations.

[mquest123]

Jazzlover, Colorado has more industries than you mentioned.

Are you trying to say people can not make a good living in Colorado?

What is the objective of your replies?