Boulder County in the past few years has undergone another tech renaissance, adding thousands of local jobs. Google, Amazon, Apple and Twitter all have a major presence, with hundreds of smaller firms in nearly every community in the county. The influx of high-paying positions helped boost the Housing and Urban Development-decreed area median income for an individual from $68,800 in 2017 to $76,100 in 2018 — a 10.6% increase.
But not everyone has cashed in on the wealth tech has brought to town. More than a quarter of Boulder County residents (27%) don’t earn enough to cover their basic needs, according to the Colorado Center for Law and Policy, which every few years puts out a report on self-sufficiency.
A self-sufficiency wage is what a person would need to earn to cover the bare minimum: housing, transportation, food, health care, taxes, child care if applicable, and miscellaneous costs such as toiletries, clothing, etc. In Boulder County in 2018, the self-sufficiency wage for a single person was $30,639.
“You can, in theory, survive in Boulder County for $30,000 a year if you’re single, have no children, no responsibilities and can find a place to rent for $1,100,” said Claire Levy, CCLP executive director.
But, as Levy points out, that’s getting harder to do. The basic costs of living used to compute the self-sufficiency standard have increased 78% between 2000 and 2017. Earnings have grown only 43%.
“Folks are working,” Levy said. “They’re working hard. But they’re not earning enough money.”
