Colorado
State Government
Governor
Jared Polis (D)
State Senate
23
Democrats,
12
Republicans
State House
46
Democrats,
19
Republicans
Economic well-being - Colorado
Extreme poverty rate
0.1
Food insecurity
0.1
Minimum wage
14.8
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.2
Poverty rate
9.6%
Unemployment rate
4.2
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
7.9
Poverty by demographic - Colorado
Child poverty rate
0.1
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
N/A
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
N/A
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
163000
Senior poverty rate
9.2 %
Women in poverty
2,891,826.0
Chalkbeat Colorado, January 23, 2015: As Denver Public Schools enrollment booms, poverty rate drops
"In a sharp reversal from the recent past, the number of DPS students from higher-income families is growing faster than the number from lower-income families. The percentage of students from low-income families has been shrinking incrementally for three years now. And DPS and state officials are projecting that the new trend is here to stay for the foreseeable future."
The Denver Post, January 15, 2015: Children's Museum of Denver offers $1 admission for low-income visitors
"The Children's Museum of Denver is spending 2015 trying to open its doors a little wider to low-income families. The museum 2121 Children's Museum Drive is offering $1 admission per person to families who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The pilot project started at the beginning of the year and will run through December."
Chalkbeat Colorado, November 18, 2014: Report: Path to top colleges for low-income kids is smoother in affluent districts
"Low-income students in some of Colorado's more affluent school districtsBoulder, Cherry Creek, and St. Vrain Valleyare more likely to attend top colleges than their peers around the state.But across the state, and even in those districts, less well-off students attend elite schools at a lower rate than more affluent students."
Daily Camera, May 18, 2013: (Op-Ed) It starts at home
"All the while, low-income students' parents cannot pay for books or games. They cannot afford tutors or extra curricular and enrichment activities. They generally have to work more and consequently cannot spend a lot of individual time with their kids. For that same reason, they cannot volunteer in classrooms. Sometimes they do not have sufficient education to help their kids with schoolwork. And they often do not bestow the value of education upon their children."
The Gazette, January 20, 2013: Harrison District 2 wants dropouts to return
"More than 70 percent of district students are from low-income families. Often, poor students drop out because they have to work to help their family or because they become discouraged. The district wants to improve achievement and graduation rates, which are 74.1 percent among the 10,775 students."
The Gazette, January 20, 2013: Gaps between whites, minorities have widened since 1960
"Regardless of which way the causal arrow runs, poverty and education are intertwined across the range of societal distress. Several experts said the state's pullback in funding education over the past two decades has narrowed the path for escaping poverty. Between 1992 and 2010, according to Census data, Colorado plunged from 24th to 40th on overall state spending per student for K-12 education."