Strong Apartment Occupancy in Boulder, Despite Extreme Seasonality

Unlike its much larger neighbor to the southeast, Boulder’s apartment occupancy stands firmly above the national norm. As of June, apartment occupancy in Boulder clocked in at 94.8%, compared to a much lower reading of 93.8% in Denver, according to RealPage Market Analytics data. That pattern generally rings true across the neighboring Colorado markets as Boulder’s much smaller apartment inventory benefits heavily from University of Colorado Boulder’s 37,000 students. As such, Boulder also experiences swings in occupancy readings corresponding to the academic calendar. Boulder’s apartment occupancy typically hits a low during summer break in June, but then predictably ticks back up in the autumn when students return. For context, total apartment inventory in Boulder of about 31,000 units is approximately one tenth the size of neighboring Denver where total inventory is more like 336,000 units.