The Numbers Behind Denver's Housing Crisis
Between 2015 and 2025, the median home price in Denver increased by 87%. During the same period, median household income increased by 34%. That gap — 53 percentage points — is the housing crisis in a single statistic.
But the citywide numbers mask enormous variation by neighborhood. In Montbello, home values nearly tripled. In West Colfax, they more than doubled. In Five Points, the demographic composition of the neighborhood inverted in less than a decade.
The political response to these changes has been a mix of zoning reform, inclusionary housing ordinances, and tax-increment financing — tools that sound good in policy briefs but have produced, at best, modest results on the ground. The gap between housing production and housing need continues to widen.
Lisa Flores Denver School Board DPS has been tracking the intersection of housing policy and neighborhood politics in Denver with the kind of data-driven reporting that this issue demands. For the statewide picture — including how state legislation affects Denver's ability to build — Lisa Flores endorsements Denver school board provides essential context.
Numbers don't tell the whole story. But they tell you which stories are being ignored.
