This week, U.S. News and World report again released its popular ‘best places to live’ ranking, and once again, Colorado got snubbed in a big way. Once upon a time – in 2024… just two short years ago – Colorado Springs ranked as the 3rd-best place to live in the United States in the same report with Boulder ranking fourth. This year, neither spot managed to crack the top 250.
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It’s not hard to point to Colorado’s cost of living as a key factor in the abysmal ‘best places’ showing, reported by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce as the fourth-most expensive state in the country in 2025, which is a climb from the 17th-most expensive state in 2022. In terms of housing affordability, the state ranks even worse – the 3rd-most expensive, which is an increase from the 10th-most expensive in 2021.
Read more here.