Real estate · Metro area · Colorado
Real estate businesses in the Boulder, CO metro area
The real estate businesses in the Boulder, CO metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 27 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #380 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 7 scored metro areas based in Colorado
- Listings
- 853
- 43 chain locations (5%)
- Official establishments
- 768
- +8.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $2.8B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $20,540 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 76
- 24% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 62.3
- 62% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 328,560
- −0.7% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Boulder metro area
The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Boulder metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
For real estate businesses, the Boulder metro area has a Groundwork market score of 27 (lower middle): #380 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 7 scored metro areas based in Colorado. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 853 real estate businesses in the Boulder metro area. Of those, 43 are chain locations, or 5%, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 62.3 for every 10,000 households, 62% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.
At $20,540 per household (23% above the U.S. average), households in the Boulder metro area spend about $2.8B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 24% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.
Official counts show 768 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Boulder metro area in 2023, up 8.0% from 2019. That is one for every 178 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $383K have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Boulder metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Boulder metro area declined 0.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Boulder metro area compares
The same measures for Colorado and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Boulder metro area | Colorado | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 62.3 | 57.0 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 76 | 79 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 178 | 200 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.0% | +11.1% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.7% | +3.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $20,540 | $19,501 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $103,994 | $95,470 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 27 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 768+8.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,697
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $129.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 2,266Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 85343 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 650The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $383K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Boulder metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Boulder metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 328,560−0.7% since 2020
- Households
- 137,008
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 726 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 453
- Median household income
- $103,994+25.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $148,846
- Median home value
- $756,300
- Jobs located here
- 190,563
- Daytime population
- 376,803Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Boulder metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Boulder metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across Colorado
Every Colorado market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Colorado for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Colorado, with the Boulder metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Colorado
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Greeley, CO | 75 | 329 | 26.5 | 166 | +14.2% | #19 of 387 |
| 2Pueblo, CO | 58 | 200 | 29.2 | 130 | +0.6% | #109 of 387 |
| 3Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 39 | 7,269 | 59.5 | 79 | +4.1% | #295 of 387 |
| 4Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | 37 | 933 | 60.5 | 73 | +4.8% | #317 of 387 |
| 5Colorado Springs, CO | 34 | 1,745 | 57.8 | 76 | +3.1% | #347 of 387 |
| 6Grand Junction, CO | 32 | 387 | 58.8 | 68 | +4.4% | #359 of 387 |
| 7Boulder, CO | 27 | 853 | 62.3 | 76 | −0.7% | #380 of 387 |
Other business types in the Boulder metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in the Boulder, CO metro area?
There are 853 real estate businesses on map listings in the Boulder metro area as of September 2026. 43 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 768 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 8.0% from 2019. Official counts list 2,266 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Boulder, CO metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $2.8B a year, or $20,540 per household. That is 23% above the U.S. average (an index of 123, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 853 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 24% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 137,008 households in the Boulder metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Boulder, CO metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
The Boulder metro area has 62.3 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 62% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 76, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Boulder metro area would have about 650, against 853 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 178 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.
How fast is the Boulder, CO metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Boulder metro area at 328,560 people in 2025, down 0.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 137,008 households. The median household income in the Boulder metro area is $103,994 a year, 29% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.3% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Boulder metro area scores 27 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #380 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Boulder metro area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Boulder metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Boulder metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Boulder metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.