Looks like Denverites are moving to red counties in search of cheaper housing
Denverites are leaving the city for redder, more conservative pastures. Yet, it’s not principally over politics, but rather housing costs. That according to real estate company Redfin, which analyzed housing trends along political lines in a new study.
Mirroring national trends, the study discovered residents are leaving the “blue,” liberal Denver County for “red,” traditionally conservative counties like Douglas County.
In August, Redfin found comparable homes in Douglas County sold for about 60 percent of the cost of a home in Denver County.
“Additionally, in 2015, the typical resident spent a full 3 percent more of their income on rent in Denver County as well – 29.5 percent compared with 26.4 in Douglas County,” the study found.
“As a result, one in 10 Redfin users looking to move out of Denver County, Colorado – where nearly three in four votes last November were for Hillary Clinton-were looking to nearby Douglas County-where (Donald) Trump won 54.7 percent of the vote.”
While some liberal-leaning counties like Summit and Boulder saw a big surge in new residents, overall “blue” Colorado counties saw 12.7 percent more people leave than come – which led the nation.
Redfin classified blue and red counties as those that voted for the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, and Republican candidate, Donald Trump, for president in 2016 respectively.
The real estate company cited shrinking housing availability and swelling costs in the country’s urban counties as the primary reason behind the trend. Bottom line: Red counties are more affordable than blue counties.
“Nationwide, the average home in a blue county costs around $360,000 – more than 62 percent more than that of homes in red counties ($223,000),” the study said. “Sure blue-county incomes are usually higher, but their residents spend on average 32 percent of their household income on rent, nearly 5 percentage points higher than residents of red counties.”
Living in county that aligned politically also proved to be a relocation motivator for residents, the study said. A Redfin survey found that 41 percent of recent homebuyers were hesitant about moving to a place where most people have differing political views from their own.

