Our Voter Voices survey identified the economy and cost of living as a top issue among nearly all groups, especially voters 18 to 29 and conservatives across Colorado. If you’re a voter who’s concerned about the cost of living, here’s where your vote has the most impact. 

By Jennifer Brown, The Colorado Sun

One of the top issues on the minds of Colorado voters this election is the cost of living, with about 15% in our Voter Voices survey saying they intend to focus first on the economy as they mark their ballots. 

Coloradans are concerned about the price of housing, groceries, gas, utility bills and everything else it takes to keep households running. That’s not shocking considering that the average household has spent $34,194 more since 2020 due to inflation, according to research from the Common Sense Institute. 

“That’s the cost of higher education tuition,” said Kelly Caufield, the institute’s executive director. “All Coloradans should care about the economy and the cost of living here.” 

While economists say inflation is “cooling,” Coloradans are still feeling the economic crush of the past few years. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is about $1,500 in Fort Collins. The average price of a home in Fort Collins is now above $557,000. Food prices in Colorado and across the country rose 25% from 2019 to 2023. 

Carter Gilbertson, a Fort Collins resident and sophomore at Front Range Community College said his primary concern with cost of living is pay rates not being raised comparatively.

 “Unless pay rates rise, or costs go down, my generation simply won’t be able to purchase homes” Gilbertson said. 

From 2020 – 2024 Gilbertson saw a 13% increase in his utility bill. 

“Rising costs have affected how much take home pay I have, more of my money goes to rent, gas, and utilities each month with less leftover to save” he said. 

So if your top concern is the high price of living in Colorado, how should you vote? A large part of that answer depends on which economic policies you believe will work and how those policies match up with your other priorities. Here’s what to watch for on your ballot.

State ballot measures to collect more tax dollars

The top tax measures on the November ballot are regional and local, including some so-called “de-Brucing” measures that would remove entities from the tax limits set under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. TABOR was authored by former state representative Douglas Bruce.

They all put less money in people’s pockets, but, and this is the key question for voters, propose to do so for the greater good. 

One measure, 7A, would allow RTD — the Regional Transportation District — to keep spending about $50 million to $60 million a year above the TABOR cap instead of refunding that amount to millions of people who made retail purchases in the eight-county RTD taxing district. If it passes, RTD could keep all of its sales tax revenue permanently. 

TABOR exemptions for RTD that were passed in the 1990s are scheduled to expire this year, and the transportation authority has seen its ridership drop since the pandemic while its operating budget is increasing. RTD had an operating budget in 2014 of $477 million, an amount that has grown to more than $1 billion. 

Sales tax increases

  Since 1989, the city of Fort Collins has employed a street maintenance tax of 0.25%. Just under 50% of all of the city’s spending on street maintenance is covered by this tax. 

Previously the tax has been renewed over 10 year cycles, with the large majority of local residents voting in favor. The tax is now set to renew, for a 20 year term. 

If the extension is voted in, it will simply stay in place and no taxes will be increased. 

Other ballot measures that could lead to increased spending

Even ballot measures that don’t seem to be about cost of living are related. Two statewide measures force voters to consider whether it’s worth potentially paying more in taxes for public safety and ed\ucational choice. 

Amendment 80 would enshrine school choice in the state constitution, opening the door, critics say, to taking money from public education to fund private school. The proposal comes after school-choice groups have failed in the past to pass voucher programs that would allow parents to get tax refunds to help pay for private school, and after a voucher program in Douglas County School District was struck down by the courts. It’s supported by Advance Colorado, a conservative action committee.

Proposition 130 would spend a one-time $350 million in state funds on law enforcement, including for recruiting, training, salaries and death benefits for officers’ families. Proponents are hoping that the cost of the “Back the Blue” measure will be overshadowed by people’s concerns about crime. 

Unlike most ballot questions proposing to spend money, it doesn’t authorize any new taxes or borrowing. That means state lawmakers would have to decide how to find the $350 million. 

Presidential race

Both presidential candidates are touting economic proposals intended to decrease the burden on taxpayers. 

Former President Donald Trump is proposing to end taxes on Social Security benefits and on tips for hospitality workers. He’s also vowed to offer incentives to foreign companies that relocate manufacturing to the United States and hire American workers. And he wants to impose tariffs on other countries that trade with the United States, including a tariff as high as 200% on vehicles imported from Mexico. 

Vice President Kamala Harris said she also supports ending taxes on tips for restaurant workers. She has called for expanding the child tax credit to $6,000 from $2,000 for parents, and raising the minimum wage. Colorado’s minimum wage is $14.42 per hour and will rise to $14.81 on Jan. 1, but the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009. Harris also is pitching tax breaks for small business owners and first-time homebuyers.

Congressional races

Candidates running to represent Colorado in Congress all say the economy is a top issue, but have different ideas about how to rein in the cost of living. 

Congress can affect the cost of living with policies on taxes, industry regulations that decrease jobs and social services programs that provide food and housing assistance. 

Fort Collins falls within the 2nd Congressional District of Colorado. 

The incumbent seat, held by democrat Joe Neguse, is currently being challenged by republican candidate, Marshall Dawson. 

Joe Neguse’s economic policy centers around equal opportunity, pushing for affordable health and child care, paid leave, and a fifteen dollar minimum wage. 

This is the second time Dawson has challenged Neguse, with the first being during the 2022 midterm elections. He offers a different approach to economic policy, focusing on security within our country over social programs.

State candidates/legislators

During a special session this summer, Colorado lawmakers headed off ballot measures that legislative analysts said would have cut taxes by $2.4 billion, throttled their future growth and risked the state’s ability to fund K-12 schools and other public services. 

Lawmakers instead agreed to cut taxes in 2025 by $769 million  — the fourth round of tax cuts in less than a year. Colorado now has a $900 million budget hole.

To close the budget gap, the state will either have to cut spending or dip into its reserves, which under state law are required to set aside 15% of general fund spending. 

Lawmakers in the next few years will have to make key decisions on how to fund K-12 education, which will receive less local funding because of property tax cuts. They also have to deal with unexpected Medicaid costs, after the state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing overspent on the low-income health care program by as much as $154 million last budget year.

In terms of housing costs, lawmakers have power to pass wide-ranging legislation that can affect the availability of housing. Recent examples involve the state government expanding tax credits for affordable housing projects and overriding local policies. 

A new law passed this year, for example, requires 31 local governments to change their zoning laws to allow more housing units along major bus and rail corridors. It requires local governments to zone for at least 40 units per acre within a quarter mile of bus stops and a half mile of rail stations. Another new law allows people who live in metropolitan planning organizations to build accessory dwelling units or “granny flats” on their properties. The law blocked many existing local regulations that prohibit ADUs.

Nick Alhadeff, journalism student at Colorado State University, contributed to this story.