Almost 90% of tenants in Colorado paid rent on time in May, the Colorado Apartment Association reports. That is higher than the nearly 84% who paid by this point in April.

“Colorado has generally had better collection rates than national averages,” said Mark Williams, the executive vice president of the association, which represents 3,100 property managers. “When I speak to asset managers who have portfolios in Colorado and other states, they are consistently seeing better numbers here locally by at least a few percentage points.”

The association gathered data from 84 property management companies representing 137,719 units. Each respondent surveyed managed at least 20 units. Nationally, 80% of tenants paid on time, an increase of two percentage points from April.

CAA encourages everyone to pay rent even during the COVID-19 pandemic, although there have been several supports set up since the economic spiral began in mid-March. The association has helped to create a relief fund that seeks to raise $10 million for rental assistance, and multiple counties have debuted similar programs. In addition, the federal government has distributed $1,200 to most adults and Congress authorized enhanced unemployment benefits that boosted the average weekly payments by $600 for four months.

“During an average month, rent delinquency rates are between 5% and 6% after the first week, but decrease to 1% or 2% by the month’s conclusion,” Williams added. “As such, it is inevitable that over 89% of residents will pay rent by the end of May.”