How serious are America’s mayors? · Incorporated city
Boulder, CO
106,803 people, 2024 · Census GEOID 0807850 · Census profile · mayors: being verified · the council picks the mayor (38 of 20 years on record)
Overall in 2023, Boulder ranked #240 of 340 cities and 14th of 14 in its peer group, on 8 of 9 measures. Weigh the measures yourself · how ranks are made
Its peer group is Boulder and the 13 cities most like it in 2005 (size, income, poverty, industry, growth, density, place), fixed since: Visalia CA, Fort Collins CO, Davenport IA, Greeley CO, Green Bay WI, Cedar Rapids IA, Billings MT, Fargo ND, Midland TX, Salem OR, Peoria IL, Lafayette LA, West Valley City UT · on the map, and why
| Topline | 2005–2024 | Latest rank | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rankamong all cities with a score that year | #240 of 340 cities · 14th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | #301 | #112 | #55 | #80 | #201 | #54 | #96 | #106 | #40 | #66 | #117 | #95 | #111 | #130 | #164 | #89 | #177 | #129 | #240 | #183 | |
| people · size, not ranked | 94,794 | 96,236 | 96,690 | 97,295 | 97,452 | 97,752 | 100,137 | 101,160 | 102,719 | 104,451 | 106,742 | 107,128 | 106,447 | 106,008 | 105,673 | 108,418 | 104,316 | 106,079 | 106,634 | 106,803 | ||
| net movers per 100 residents · estimate · higher is better | #179 of 340 cities · 11th of 14 in its peer group | -0.7 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.1 | — | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +1.1 | +0.4 | -0.1 | +0.1 | -0.0 | -0.0 | -1.3 | -0.2 | -0.6 | -0.3 | |
| new homes per 1,000 residents · higher is better | #116 of 271 cities with data · 9th of 12 in its peer group with data | — | — | — | 5.5 | 1.2 | 4.6 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 8.5 | 5.8 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.9 | — | 3.1 | — | 2.8 | — | — | 3.8 | |
| rent as % of income · lower is better | #299 of 340 cities · 14th of 14 in its peer group | 25.5% | 23.9% | 20.2% | 20.5% | 27.3% | 24.7% | 23.3% | 25.4% | 25.4% | 23.3% | 28.6% | 24.6% | 27.8% | 29.2% | 26.6% | — | 27.0% | 26.6% | 30.5% | 28.9% | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #74 of 309 cities with data · 3rd of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 2.0 | — | — | 1.0 | 1.9 | — | 2.8 | — | 0.9 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 6.6 | 2.8 | — | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #77 of 295 cities with data · 2nd of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | 8.2 | 10.0 | 12.9 | 3.9 | 12.4 | 13.1 | 17.7 | 13.2 | 18.9 | 22.7 | 20.3 | 27.8 | 24.5 | 27.2 | 25.3 | |
| jobs · size, not ranked | 74,989 | 77,045 | 77,866 | 81,622 | 77,302 | 81,031 | 81,322 | 76,619 | 79,152 | 85,207 | 83,158 | 89,468 | 91,452 | 92,602 | 95,348 | 85,357 | 79,473 | 92,043 | 92,307 | — | ||
| points ahead of the metro · higher is better | #277 of 329 cities with data · 10th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | -1.0 | +0.9 | +1.8 | -2.4 | +0.8 | +3.0 | -2.2 | -3.8 | +2.8 | +1.5 | -2.3 | +1.3 | +0.7 | -0.4 | -0.0 | -1.0 | -7.7 | +4.9 | -2.0 | — | |
| people · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 54,678 | 55,779 | 58,716 | 58,260 | 59,829 | 59,834 | 59,148 | 59,734 | 59,269 | — | 56,336 | 59,928 | 55,952 | 57,249 | ||
| % of workforce · lower is better | #196 of 340 cities · 10th of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7.1% | 7.4% | 6.4% | 7.1% | 5.0% | 5.3% | 4.0% | 3.5% | 5.6% | — | 5.5% | 3.4% | 7.0% | 5.3% | |
| % of promises funded · not ranked: 38 cities report | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| surplus as % of revenue · higher is better | #256 of 314 cities with data · 13th of 14 in its peer group | 11% | 18% | 13% | 23% | 11% | 9% | 12% | 6% | 9% | 11% | 21% | 25% | 22% | 22% | 8% | 31% | 29% | 21% | 35% | 6% | |
| dollars per resident · lower is better | #122 of 314 cities with data · 7th of 14 in its peer group | $3,141 | $3,572 | $3,508 | $2,607 | $2,738 | $2,752 | $2,424 | $2,103 | $2,680 | $1,893 | $2,040 | $1,769 | $1,509 | $1,249 | $2,684 | $2,870 | $2,597 | $2,110 | $2,328 | $2,175 |
Click a row for its source and its rank in every year. 1st is best whichever way the measure points. A rank is out of all 340 cities, or out of its peer group of 14; where some had no value that year it says “with data” and counts only those. An em dash is a year the source does not hold for Boulder. A greyed homicide figure is a year the FBI holds as a transition year for this department. What each row is, and is not, is on the main page, with a link to every source in Sources.