Values ranged from a high of 1.290 in Teller County to a low of 0.734 in Baca County. These values indicate that the cost of living in Teller and Baca counties is 29 percent higher and 27 percent lower, respectively, than the state average. Data were not obtained in Pitkin and Ouray counties, but they probably fall in the Very High category. A broad central core of 27 counties are within 10 percent of the state average. Composite cost of living indices for Colorado, mid-1998.
Some general patterns appear from the figure.
The four highest cost of living counties occur in mountain areas, three of them with local economies dominated by high-mountain recreation and residential or second homes for the affluent. Many of the higher COLI counties follow the I-70 corridor west into the mountains and eastward from the Denver metro area. Estimates for counties in the southwest corner of the state were also in the high category, driven largely by housing prices. Lower COLI counties are primarily located in the eastern plains, along the western border outside the I-70 corridor, and in the San Luis Valley. The Special Issue of Housing Of all categories, housing cost was the most variable between counties, followed by utilities and medical care.