2 Colorado ‘Micro’ Metros Among Nation’s Most Expensive

Where are the nation’s most expensive “micropolitan” rural communities?

No surprise to me. Colorado and the West.

That’s according to a LendingTree analysis of 2022 U.S. Census Bureau data looking at micropolitan areas.

What’s a micropolitan area?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a micropolitan area is a geographic area associated with at least one urban cluster with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000, plus the adjacent counties that have a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties.

Think of the greater Denver area or the Fort Collins-Loveland and Greeley metropolitan statistical areas on a smaller scale.

This list looked at areas with the highest median home values, comparing them to largest metro areas.

What are the most expensive central towns in Colorado?

Colorado communities held two of the top five most expensive towns in the U.S. positions.

Breckenridge came in at No. 3, with a median home value of $760,000, similar to Los Angeles.

Steamboat Springs took the No. 4 position with a median home value of $691,800.

The top five are Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts; Jackson, Wyoming; Breckenridge, Colorado; Steamboat Springs, Colorado; and Hailey, Idaho.

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No Aspen.

No, its micro area of Glenwood Springs falls just short of the population metrics defining the micropolitan area. With a median home value of $530,500 in 2022, it would have hit No. 6. Aspen itself had a median property value of $842,700. The science of Census districts, not real estate markets.

In the second half of 2023, the average sales price of an Aspen home was $14.5 million.

Colorado has 10 micropolitan areas ranging from Canon City to Fort Morgan to Durango.

Gardnerville Ranchos, Nevada; Hood River, Oregon; Ellensburg, Washington; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Astoria, Oregon, round out the top 10.

What drives lists of the most expensive towns like this?

Surprise, surprise. Just look at it. They are the playgrounds of the rich and sometimes famous, places where they often take up the limited supply and drive up costs for the locals.

RELATED: Why is Colorado so expensive?

For others, it’s a simpler issue of supply and demand, according to LendingTree. Rural areas have oft struggled in this way because the area may be difficult to build in or aren’t seen as a profitable endeavors for developers.

LendingTree used its analysis to do a bit of myth-busting: Rural towns aren’t inherently less expensive than metropolitan cities.