Voters in many Colorado Front Range communities, already struggling with affordability, voted on Nov. 3 to make things even less affordable.
As previously noted, many municipalities in the Front Range Passenger Rail (FRPR) taxing district (aka the Colorado Connector, or “CoCo”) faced several local tax increases beyond the FRPR .333 sales tax hike, and some risked pushing the combined rate close to 10% (and one did) if voters passed all sales tax measures on their ballots.
Let’s see how citizens in the FRPR municipalities voted on their local sales tax measures.
The Results
Of the 31 municipalities in the district, 7 areas already charged a combined state and local sales tax rate above 9%; now that number is 13.
The municipalities newly above 9% are Edgewater, Federal Heights, parts of Littleton, the Boulder County portion of Longmont, the Jefferson County portion of Westminster, and Wheat Ridge.
One of those cities, Wheat Ridge, went above and beyond, increasing its rate by more than 2% to a combined rate of over 10%, through three sales tax measures that all passed (FRPR, city, and West Metro Fire).
The table below shows the results.
Table 1
| Cities | Counties | Before | After | Change | |
| Arvada | Jefferson & Adams | 8.21% & 7.96% | 8.543% & 8.293% | +0.333% | |
| Boulder | Boulder | 9.295% | 9.628% | +0.333% | |
| Bow Mar | Arapahoe & Jefferson | 4.25% & 4.50% | 4.583% & 4.833% | +0.333% | |
| Broomfield | Broomfield | 8.25% | 8.583% | +0.333% | |
| Centennial | Arapahoe | 6.75% | 7.083% | +0.333% | |
| Cherry Hills Village | Arapahoe | 7.75% | 8.083% | +0.333% | |
| Colorado Springs | El Paso | 8.20% | 8.533% | +0.333% | |
| Columbine Valley | Arapahoe | 7.25% | 7.583% | +0.333% | |
| Denver | Denver | 9.15% | 9.483% | +0.333% | |
| Edgewater | Jefferson | 8.00% | 9.583% | +1.583% | |
| Englewood | Arapahoe | 8.05% | 8.383% | +0.333% | |
| Federal Heights | Adams | 8.75% | 9.083% | +0.333% | |
| Fort Collins * | Larimer | 8.30% | 8.633% or 8.933% | +0.333% or +0.633% | |
| Glendale | Arapahoe | 8.00% | 8.333% | +0.333% | |
| Greenwood Village | Arapahoe | 7.25% | 7.583% | +0.333% | |
| Lafayette | Boulder | 9.205% | 9.538% | +0.333% | |
| Lakeside | Jefferson | 7.30% | 7.633% | +0.333% | |
| Lakewood | Jefferson | 7.50% | 8.583% | +1.083% | |
| Littleton | Arapahoe, Jefferson, & Douglas | 8.00%, 8.25%, & 8.75% | 8.333%, 8.583%, & 9.083% | +0.333% | |
| Longmont | Boulder & Weld | 8.865% & 7.53% | 9.198% & 7.863% | +0.333% | |
| Louisville | Boulder | 9.11% | 9.443% | +0.333% | |
| Loveland * | Larimer | 6.95% | 7.283% or 7.583% | +0.333% or +0.633% | |
| Manitou Springs | El Paso | 9.03% | 9.363% | +0.333% | |
| Mountain View | Jefferson | 8.50% | 8.833% | +0.333% | |
| Pueblo | Pueblo | 7.60% | 8.100% | +0.500% | |
| Sheridan | Arapahoe | 7.75% | 8.083% | +0.333% | |
| Starkville | Las Animas | 4.40% | 4.733% | +0.333% | |
| Superior | Boulder | 9.11% | 9.443% | +0.333% | |
| Trinidad | Las Animas | 8.40% | 8.733% | +0.333% | |
| Westminster | Adams & Jefferson | 9.00% & 8.75% | 9.333% & 9.083% | +0.333% | |
| Wheat Ridge | Jefferson | 8.00% | 10.083% | +2.083% | |
| *Larimer County is still awaiting certification of Issue 1A. | |||||
Why This Matters
The 2026 election was largely seen as a referendum on affordability because of inflation, rising costs from tariffs and the war with Iran.
Unfortunately, Coloradans did not apply the same logic they used in response to federal policy to their own state and local tax policy.
Instead, Coloradans decided to increase taxes on everyone, hurting low-income earners especially, even though they rejected some local tax measures.
But while voters did not approve all the tax increases before them, the combined impact will likely be more significant than at first glance.
Through Amendment 87, Coloradans thought they were increasing taxes on the wealthy and that there would be no other consequences.
However, when taxes increase, especially on businesses, the costs are pushed down through higher costs for consumers and/or reduced employment.
Through Proposition NN, the state will permanently take billions of dollars out of the economy to spend on education spending with ever-diminishing returns.
So, combined with the newly increased sales taxes, which tend to be regressive, low-income Coloradans will see higher prices and fewer jobs.
While much of the rest of the country is actively competing to let people keep more of their own money, Colorado and some local communities are pursuing the opposite.
This will only exacerbate the state’s affordability woes, pricing more people out of Colorado.