Colorado’s Largest Markets See Some of the Nation’s Steepest Rent Cuts

The three largest apartment markets in Colorado have been cutting rents at some of the most aggressive rates nationally amid elevated supply levels. During the year-ending January 2026, rent cuts in Boulder, Colorado Springs and Denver ranged from roughly 5.5% to 7.5%, landing the three markets in the bottom 10 for annual rent change among the nation’s 150 largest apartment markets, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics. In fact, rent cuts over the past six months have been the steepest each of those Colorado markets have witnessed in more than 15 years. Over the past two years, inventory growth was solid, averaging 7.1% in Colorado Springs and 4.4% in Denver. Those were well above the national average of 2.6% during that period. While the two-year average inventory growth in Boulder (2.7%) was in line with the U.S. norm, it was above the market’s long-term average growth rate of just over 1% annually. Similar to annual rent change, occupancy in all three markets has been running below the U.S. average. Occupancy in Denver and Colorado Springs has been consistently below the national norm for more than four years. However, Boulder was generally running in line with or above the U.S. rate for much of the past four years until dropping below the national average in the second half of 2025. As of January 2026, occupancy registered at 92.9% in Denver, 93.2% in Colorado Springs and 94.1% in Boulder. With new supply expected to slow in the coming year, occupancy and annual rent change are expected to get a lift, though rent cuts may persist.