Best Metro Denver Rent-Bargain Cities Right Now

Last month, metro Denver rent prices hit new heights, with no end in sight, and in recent days, a new analysis found that one-bedroom rent in Denver went up on a month-by-month basis by a higher percentage than any other city in the country.

So it’s a pleasant surprise that supplementary data looking at the Mile High City and many of its neighboring communities is considerably less ghastly. Indeed, the costs in several places are actually lower now than they were at this time last year, making them relative bargains by comparison with the communities nearest them.

That’s the biggest news contained in the August 2018 Denver rent report from Apartment List. But not every digit is positive.

In Denver proper, for example, Apartment List found that rents rose by a significant 0.6 percent from June to July, the most recent month for which figures are available. But that’s a lot lower than the 4.9 percent boost found by Zumper for the second item linked above. Moreover, Apartment List posits that the increase was just 0.2 percent on a year-to-year basis – better than the average 0.5 percent increase for Colorado as a whole during that period, and one-sixth the size of the 1.2 percent upswing for the country as a whole.

Similarly, rents are up in eight of the ten largest cities in metro Denver over a year ago, but often by modest amounts, especially in comparison to the huge leaps locals have been experiencing of late. The biggest year-to-year increase is 6.2 percent – still a big hit to the pocketbook, but at least it’s not in the double digits.

Furthermore, the prices in four towns are lower now than during the summer of 2017. The differences aren’t huge, but the minus signs next to them are mighty nice to see.

Continue to see the numbers for fourteen metro Denver spots, ranked from the largest to smallest increases in rent price over the course of a year.
Number 14: Brighton

Median one-bedroom price: $1,270
Median two-bedroom price: $1,610
Month-to-month price change: -01 percent
Year-to-year price change: +6.2 percent

Number 13: Castle Rock

Median one-bedroom price: $1,400
Median two-bedroom price: $1,700
Month-to-month price change: -1.6 percent
Year-to-year price change: +4.1 percent

Number 12: Broomfield

Median one-bedroom price: $1,360
Median two-bedroom price: $1,710
Month-to-month price change: +0.4 percent
Year-to-year price change: +2.9 percent

Number 11: Wheat Ridge

Median one-bedroom price: $1,020
Median two-bedroom price: $1,290
Month-to-month price change: -01 percent
Year-to-year price change:+2.7 percent

Number 10: Arvada

Median one-bedroom price: $1,220
Median two-bedroom price: $1,540
Month-to-month price change: -03 percent
Year-to-year price change: +2.6 percent

Number 9: Thornton

Median one-bedroom price: $1,470
Median two-bedroom price: $1,860
Month-to-month price change: +0.3 percent
Year-to-year price change: +2.5 percent

Number 8: Westminster

Median one-bedroom price: $1,270
Median two-bedroom price: $1,610
Month-to-month price change: -01 percent
Year-to-year price change: +1.8 percent

Number 7: Littleton

Median one-bedroom price: $1,470
Median two-bedroom price: $1,860
Month-to-month price change: +0.8 percent
Year-to-year price change: +1.3 percent

Number 6: Denver

Median one-bedroom price: $1,060
Median two-bedroom price: $1,350
Month-to-month price change: +0.6 percent
Year-to-year price change: +0.2 percent

Number 5: Englewood

Median one-bedroom price: $1,210
Median two-bedroom price: $1,530
Month-to-month price change: -03 percent
Year-to-year price change: +0.1 percent

Number 4: Golden

Median one-bedroom price: $1,240
Median two-bedroom price: $1,560
Month-to-month price change: +0.7 percent
Year-to-year price change: -04 percent

Number 3: Lone Tree

Median one-bedroom price: $1,590
Median two-bedroom price: $2,010
Month-to-month price change: -02 percent
Year-to-year price change: -05 percent

Number 2: Aurora

Median one-bedroom price: $1,230
Median two-bedroom price: $1,560
Month-to-month price change: +0.7 percent
Year-to-year price change: -08 percent

Number 1: Parker

Median one-bedroom price: $1,480
Median two-bedroom price: $1,870
Month-to-month price change: +1.3 percent
Year-to-year price change: -1.0 percent