Golden, Colorado
2026 Edition · 10 cards · data as of Oct 30, 2026
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Population
Down 0.0% since 2020.
20,390
people, the 33rd-largest of Colorado's cities and towns.
Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Colorado's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates
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The workday
Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.
95.3%
of 20,722 jobs located in Golden are filled by in-commuters.
Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES
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Rent
Median rent is up 123% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.
$1,953
a month. Colorado's median is $1,761.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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The seam
Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $1,632.
A $1,632 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Jefferson County.
- $1,869 Tract 605.01
- $3,501 Tract 98.37
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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Room to build
The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.
$1,313–$1,969
is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.
- $1,953 median
Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year
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Building
70% of the housing here was built before 2000.
- 142 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
- 1% of those were in multifamily buildings
- 70% of all homes were built before 2000
Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year
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Units needed
Closing the gap would add 0.5–2.5% to the 8,175 homes here.
37–207
is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.
Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac
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Home value
A median home costs 55% more than Colorado's.
$837,700
median home value in Golden.
- $837,700 Golden
- $539,400 Colorado
- $332,700 U.S.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year