Colorado County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 64 counties in Colorado, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 41.5. 1county is in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Colorado Snapshot
64 Counties Scored
41.5 Mean Score
40.1 Median Score
67.7 Pueblo County Most Distressed
25.1 Jackson County Least Distressed
1 Serious 14 Elevated 25 Normal 24 Healthy
Zone Distribution Colorado County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 64 Colorado counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Colorado's 64 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Colorado Counties
64 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 512 | Pueblo County | 67.7 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 2 | 655 | Costilla County | 64.7 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 3 | 669 | Las Animas County | 64.6 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 4 | 833 | Otero County | 61.8 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 5 | 935 | Adams County | 60.3 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 6 | 1,037 | Alamosa County | 58.7 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 7 | 1,123 | Bent County | 57.5 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 8 | 1,146 | Sedgwick County | 57.0 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 9 | 1,310 | Crowley County | 54.5 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 10 | 1,358 | Prowers County | 53.7 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 11 | 1,366 | Montezuma County | 53.6 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 12 | 1,422 | Arapahoe County | 52.7 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 13 | 1,525 | El Paso County | 51.0 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 14 | 1,553 | Weld County | 50.4 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 15 | 1,577 | Fremont County | 50.0 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 16 | 1,592 | Denver County | 49.7 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 17 | 1,625 | Delta County | 49.2 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 18 | 1,652 | Morgan County | 48.9 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 19 | 1,715 | Rio Grande County | 48.0 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 20 | 1,721 | Huerfano County | 47.9 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 21 | 1,723 | Saguache County | 47.9 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 22 | 1,782 | Mineral County | 46.9 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 23 | 1,817 | Conejos County | 46.4 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 24 | 1,837 | Mesa County | 46.1 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 25 | 1,868 | Baca County | 45.6 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 26 | 1,908 | Lincoln County | 44.7 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 27 | 1,931 | Logan County | 44.4 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 28 | 2,056 | Moffat County | 42.2 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 29 | 2,061 | Lake County | 42.1 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 30 | 2,097 | Montrose County | 41.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 31 | 2,108 | San Juan County | 41.3 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 32 | 2,147 | Larimer County | 40.7 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 33 | 2,229 | Teller County | 39.4 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 34 | 2,281 | Kit Carson County | 38.5 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 35 | 2,289 | Kiowa County | 38.4 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 36 | 2,294 | Garfield County | 38.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 37 | 2,327 | Jefferson County | 37.7 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 38 | 2,342 | Clear Creek County | 37.5 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 39 | 2,397 | La Plata County | 36.4 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 40 | 2,450 | Gilpin County | 35.5 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 41 | 2,507 | Eagle County | 34.4 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 42 | 2,508 | Washington County | 34.4 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 43 | 2,519 | Boulder County | 34.0 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 44 | 2,542 | Dolores County | 33.7 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 45 | 2,547 | Yuma County | 33.7 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 46 | 2,598 | Chaffee County | 32.8 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 47 | 2,615 | Archuleta County | 32.5 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 48 | 2,627 | Gunnison County | 32.4 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 49 | 2,662 | Grand County | 31.7 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 50 | 2,736 | Ouray County | 30.4 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 51 | 2,760 | Cheyenne County | 29.9 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 52 | 2,761 | Broomfield County | 29.9 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 53 | 2,775 | Park County | 29.7 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 54 | 2,778 | San Miguel County | 29.6 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 55 | 2,821 | Douglas County | 28.6 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 56 | 2,822 | Routt County | 28.5 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 57 | 2,842 | Phillips County | 28.1 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 58 | 2,845 | Hinsdale County | 28.1 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 59 | 2,852 | Summit County | 27.9 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 60 | 2,891 | Pitkin County | 27.0 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 61 | 2,909 | Custer County | 26.7 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 62 | 2,914 | Elbert County | 26.4 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 63 | 2,963 | Rio Blanco County | 25.2 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 64 | 2,964 | Jackson County | 25.1 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties