Cost of Living in Erie
Erie runs meaningfully above the national and Colorado averages on housing cost specifically, offset by a genuinely high median household income figure -- though that income figure carries a real, disclosed sourcing caveat.
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Learn moreAn expensive, fast-appreciating housing market drives the overall cost picture
The three-month median sale price through May 2026 was $773,000 (Redfin), up 10.4% year over year -- above even Longmont's $480K-$575K band elsewhere in this dataset's Colorado coverage, and well above the ~$408,776-$431,400 national benchmark used throughout this dataset. Price per square foot ($268) was essentially flat (down 0.19% YoY), suggesting the increase is driven more by home size and new-construction mix than by broad per-square-foot appreciation.
A high, but single-sourced, median household income figure
Erie's median household income is cited at $173,349 with a 2.32% poverty rate (incomebyzipcode.com/Data USA aggregation, retrieved 2026-08-24) -- a notably high figure consistent with Erie's expensive, newer housing stock, but one this research pass could not independently cross-check against a second household-income source. It's disclosed here as directionally credible but not double-confirmed, a real gap worth noting for anyone budgeting against it precisely.
A genuinely complicated sales-tax picture
Because Erie straddles Weld and Boulder counties, combined sales-tax rates vary meaningfully by specific address: cited figures ranged from a 7.4% minimum (Avalara) up to 9.205% (SalesTaxHandbook, for addresses carrying the full Weld County plus special-district stack). This complicates day-to-day cost-of-living comparisons more than in a single-county Colorado town -- see the taxes-insurance topic for the full breakdown.
Key takeaways
- Housing is the dominant driver of Erie's above-average cost of living: $773,000 median sale price as of May 2026 (Redfin), up 10.4% YoY, above even Longmont's upper range.
- Median household income is cited at a high $173,349, but this figure is single-sourced and was not independently cross-checked this pass -- treat as directional, not fully confirmed.
- Erie's two-county straddle produces a genuinely variable combined sales-tax rate (7.4%-9.205% depending on address), a real complication for cost-of-living planning specific to this town.
- Colorado's 4.40% flat state income tax (itself subject to TABOR-driven year-to-year variation) applies in Erie as anywhere else in the state.
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