Local Government Affordable Housing Strategies

Several factors contribute to high housing costs in Colorado. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development defines being housing cost burdened as households paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing. According to a housing affordability June 2025 white paper from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), 46.8 percent of renters and 21.5 percent of homeowners are housing cost-burdened in Colorado. This issue brief focuses on some of the strategies that local governments and communities in Colorado use to meet the housing needs of residents.