To climb into the lower reaches of the 1 percent in the top metro area, a resident must bring home more than $800,000 — and breaching that barrier in the priciest county requires in excess of $1.3 million per annum.
These digits can be found in "The New Guilded Age," from the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute, our source for a post identifying Colorado places with the greatest income inequality.
As authors Estelle Sommeiller and Mark Price point out, the gap between the richest and the rest has widened in all fifty states since the 1970s, and this scenario has gotten worse in almost every state since 2009, the dawn of the Great Recession. In 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, an American family in the top 1 percent benefited from approximately 26 times more income than folks in the bottom 99 percent.
The threshold for entry into the 1 percent varies widely from place to place within Colorado. In four of the seventeen Colorado metros analyzed by the institute, those who live there can become 1 percenters with incomes of less than $300,000. In contrast, the top six communities, including the Denver area, require incomes above $500,000 to achieve this designation.
The differences are even greater at the county level. People who live in seven Colorado counties need an income under $200,000 to hit the 1 percenter target. But in the six priciest counties, 1 percenters need more than $750,000 for membership in this exclusive club.
Below, we've focused on all seventeen Colorado metros (out of 916 across the country) and the 57 Colorado counties (from a total of 3,061) included in the institute's analysis. The items include the 1 percenter threshold for each location and its national ranking, ordered from lowest to highest.
As you'll see, entry into the 1 percent tends to take fewer dollars in rural communities and counties. The amounts go up in major metros and ski/resort towns.
Note that the threshold in the biggest buck Colorado county is the fifth most expensive in the entire country. Get the details below.
INCOME THRESHOLD OF TOP 1 PERCENT FOR COLORADO METROPOLITAN AREAS
Number 17: Cañon City
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $223,428
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 715
Number 16: Craig
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $234,901
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 653
Number 15: Pueblo
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $235,752
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 645
Number 14: Montrose
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $254,061
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 546
Number 13: Fort Morgan
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $256,883
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 532
Number 12: Sterling
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $314,020
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 329
Number 11: Grand Junction
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $316,997
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 321
Number 10: Colorado Springs
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $357,847
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 216
Number 9: Greeley
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $379,213
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 175
Number 8: Durango
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $473,783
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 70
Number 7: Fort Collins
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $495,765
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 56
Number 6: Denver-Aurora-Lakewood
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $567,862
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 36
Number 5: Breckenridge
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $705,417
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 17
Number 4: Glenwood Springs
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $753,438
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 14
Number 3: Steamboat Springs
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $763,584
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 13
Number 2: Boulder
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $778,444
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 12
Number 1: Edwards
City income threshold of top 1 percent: $817,125
Ranking within 916 U.S. cities: 10
INCOME THRESHOLD OF TOP 1 PERCENT OF COLORADO COUNTIES
Number 57: Crowley County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $168,649
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,808
Number 56: Costilla County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $170,053
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,801
Number 55: Otero County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $175,420
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,734
Number 54: Saguache County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $175,501
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,731
Number 53: Conejos County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $181,737
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,641
Number 52: Bent County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $183,299
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,624
Number 51: Baca County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $192,228
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,468
Number 50: Lake County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $200,272
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,323
Number 49: Huerfano County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $200,278
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,322
Number 48: Prowers County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $209,867
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,151
Number 47: Washington County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $216,806
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 2,025
Number 46: Las Animas County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $222,588
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,937
Number 45: Fremont county
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $223,428
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,918
Number 44: Delta County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $227,057
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,856
Number 43: Sedgwick County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $231,074
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,797
Number 42: Moffat County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $234,901
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,733
Number 41: Pueblo County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $235,752
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,720
Number 40: Lincoln County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $243,892
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,590
Number 39: Alamosa County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $247,622
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,527
Number 38: Montrose County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $254,061
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,438
Number 37: Morgan County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $256,883
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,396
Number 36: Rio Blanco County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $257,143
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,391
Number 35: Kit Carson County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $260,007
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,349
Number 34: Rio Grande County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $264,699
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,280
Number 33: Montezuma County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $277,391
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,147
Number 32: Park County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $280,562
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 1,118
Number 31: Adams County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $297,963
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 947
Number 30: Teller County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $308,678
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 869
Number 29: Logan County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $314,020
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 823
Number 28: Mesa County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $316,997
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 802
Number 27: Gilpin County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $322,742
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 764
Number 26: Phillips County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $329,740
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 706
Number 25: Custer County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $331,175
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 695
Number 24: Chaffee County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $336,711
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 666
Number 23: Yuma County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $358,722
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 554
Number 22: El Paso County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $359,670
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 550
Number 21: Archuleta County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $362,310
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 537
Number 20: Weld County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $379,213
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 458
Number 19: Gunnison County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $393,514
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 398
Number 18: Clear Creek County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $462,750
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 238
Number 17: Grand County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $464,370
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 232
La Plata County.
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County income threshold of top 1 percent: $473,783
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 215
Number 15: Larimer County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $495,765
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 187
Number 14: Elbert County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $498,103
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 183
Number 13: Garfield County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $499,017
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 181
Number 12: Ouray County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $499,128
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 180
Number 11: Jefferson County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $506,513
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 174
Number 10: Broomfield County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $543,709
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 146
Number 9: Arapahoe County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $583,532
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 123
Number 8: Denver County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $608,477
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 110
Number 7: Summit County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $705,417
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 70
Number 6: Routt County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $763,584
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 50
Number 5: Boulder County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $778,444
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 48
Number 4: Eagle County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $817,125
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 42
Number 3: Douglas County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $824,027
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 41
Number 2: San Miguel County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $923,765
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 24
Number 1: Pitkin County
County income threshold of top 1 percent: $1,366,427
Ranking within 3,017 U.S. counties: 5
