342 1 Bedroom Apartments for rent in Denver, CO
Denver City Guide
Living in Denver, Colorado is a playground for adults. The city is the capital of Colorado and the most populous in the state. Over 680,000 people call Denver home, and it is the fastest-growing city in the country among major metro areas. It is also the most populated city in the Front Range Urban Corridor, covering 18 counties, two states and almost 4.8 million people. Denver is also the second biggest city in its time zone and was named the best place to live in America by US News and World R
Living in Denver, Colorado is a playground for adults. The city is the capital of Colorado and the most populous in the state. Over 680,000 people call Denver home, and it is the fastest-growing city in the country among major metro areas. It is also the most populated city in the Front Range Urban Corridor, covering 18 counties, two states and almost 4.8 million people. Denver is also the second biggest city in its time zone and was named the best place to live in America by US News and World Report. Its popularity has increased its cost of living, but apartment rents for one-bedroom apartments still tend to range from $1,200 to $1,600 per month. Keep in mind, though, that rent can vary wildly depending on which neighborhood and which amenities are on offer.
Where to Live
Denver is made up of 78 formally recognized neighborhoods. Among them, you can find all nature of living and lifestyle. The general rule of thumb is that the closer you get to the city center, the more likely you are going to find older brick buildings and more traditional city-living. On the outskirts of the city, there are more modern materials, which range from those with very suburban atmospheres to skyscrapers. You can also find urban developments that were designed to mimic older neighborhoods. These often feature a park or some other unifying focal point. There are also a few neighborhoods in Denver that are not defined formally but exist nonetheless, such as Lower Downtown (LoDo), Uptown (between North Capitol Hill and City Park West), the Golden Triangle (housed within the Civic Center neighborhood) and Alamo Placita (in the northern part of Speer).
The Denver Lifestyle
Denver has four seasons and offers a semi-arid climate. Around 300 days every year are free from precipitation, but the weather can change suddenly, thanks to the city's location at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The temperature ranges from an average of 30 degrees in December to 74 degrees in July, but winter days will often vary from highs of 60 to lows around -10 degrees, thanks to the Chinook winds that blow warmer weather through even in the coldest of months. With weather like that, there is no excuse to stay indoors. Denver residents enjoy a wide range of outdoor activities, from skiing to hiking and everything in between.
Denver's Economy
Denver's unique location drives much of the local economy. Because it is the largest city for 500 miles in any direction, it is a natural hub -- both for the local region and larger cities outside the area, such as Los Angeles and Chicago. This makes it a natural home for several major corporations. Kroger, Lockheed Martin, MapQuest, United Airlines and Xcel Energy each have large bases in Denver, even without having their headquarters there. Denver is also home to the Colorado Convention Center, as well as several nuclear weapons plants, mining companies and federal agencies. Denver's economy is diverse, but so is its population. The city is home to a large Spanish-speaking population, which makes up over 21 percent of residents.
November 2019 Denver Rent Report
Welcome to the November 2019 Denver Rent Report. Denver rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Denver rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.
November 2019 Denver Rent Report
Welcome to the November 2019 Denver Rent Report. Denver rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Denver rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.
Denver rents decline sharply over the past month
Denver rents have declined 0.6% over the past month, but have increased marginally by 0.6% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Denver stand at $1,069 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,354 for a two-bedroom. This is the second straight month that the city has seen rent decreases after an increase in August. Denver's year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 1.6%, as well as the national average of 1.4%.
Rents rising across the Denver Metro
Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Denver, but across the entire metro. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in the Denver metro, 9 of them have seen prices rise. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the metro.
- Thornton has the most expensive rents in the Denver metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,941; the city has also seen rent growth of 3.6% over the past year, the fastest in the metro.
- Over the past month, Brighton has seen the biggest rent drop in the metro, with a decline of 6.3%. Median two-bedrooms there cost $1,703, while one-bedrooms go for $1,344.
- Denver proper has the least expensive rents in the Denver metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,354; rents decreased 0.6% over the past month but were up 0.6% over the past year.
Denver rents more affordable than many similar cities nationwide
As rents have increased marginally in Denver, a few comparable cities nationwide have also seen rents grow modestly. Denver is still more affordable than most other large cities across the country.
- Rents increased moderately in other cities across the state, with Colorado as a whole logging rent growth of 1.6% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 3.2% in Colorado Springs and 2.0% in Fort Collins.
- Denver's median two-bedroom rent of $1,354 is above the national average of $1,191. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.4% over the past year compared to the 0.6% increase in Denver.
- While Denver's rents rose marginally over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including Phoenix (+4.0%), Austin (+3.2%), and Charlotte (+2.9%).
- Renters will find more reasonable prices in Denver than most comparable cities. For example, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $3,123, which is more than twice the price in Denver.
For more information check out our national report. You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at this link.
Methodology - Recent Updates:
Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.
Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.
Methodology:
Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.
Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.
Read more about our methodology here.
About Rent Reports:
Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.
We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.