Episode
Stalled population growth a sign of Colorado in decline
- Podcast
- Freedom Unaffiliated
- Published
- Feb 20, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 364
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://thinkfreedom.org
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Summary
Something strange is happening in Colorado — strange enough that the political class should notice. People are leaving Colorado . After years of being one of the fastest-growing states in the nation, net in-migration has stopped and may be reversing. According to Federal Reserve Bank data, the last time Colorado’s population took a dip was 1945. Congrats to our policy makers, who finally achieved something historic no one asked for. The Broncos haven’t won a championship in a decade, but what you’re achieving hasn’t happened in 80 years. For the first time in 16 years, rents in metro Denver are actually going down. Not “slowing their increase.” Not “rising less quickly.” Going down. Metro-wide rents are down nearly 5% over the last year. This should set off alarm bells under the Gold Dome. But it won’t. Californicating Colorado Colorado is the most beautiful and desirable state in the nation. If people are no longer stampeding here, something has gone seriously wrong — and it’s not the lack of good snow this year. More likely it’s unaffordability, litter, crime and an anti-employer climate that treats job creators like parolees. When new state law required posting of salaries, national want-ads for teleworkers stated, “not accepting applications from Colorado.” And thanks to the first-in-the-nation, and worst-in-the-free-world, regulation on AI, that same phrase is now appearing in tech company want-ads — which is quite an achievement for a state that claims to “lead innovation.” People are still fleeing the high-tax, government-failure states of California, New York and Illinois. Those refugees used to pour into Colorado. No more. They’re finding sanctuary in low-tax, low-regulation states like Florida and Texas instead. So give our leaders one victory. They’ve stoppe…