Unemployment rate
4.3%
-0.3 pp vs Aug
+0.5 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Denver metro economy by the numbers
The Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area is shown here through Denver County, Arapahoe County, Jefferson County, Adams County and Douglas County: Denver, Aurora, Centennial, Lakewood, Thornton, Arvada, Westminster and Littleton. These are the official monthly and quarterly numbers for the metro's jobs, housing, wages and prices, each one dated and linked to its source, updated the day the agency publishes.
Unemployment rate
4.3%
Sep 2026 · +0.5 pp from a year earlier
Next metro jobs releaseDec 2, 202610:00 ETFull calendar →
Unemployment
4.3%
Sep 2026 · +0.5 pp y/y
Payrolls y/y
0.1%
Sep 2026 · +0.3 pp y/y
House prices y/y
-0.5%
Q2 2026 · -0.9 pp y/y
Listing price
$569,900
Sep 2026 · -4.9% y/y
Weekly wages
$1,842
Q1 2026 · +4.9% y/y
CPI y/y
3.8%
Sep 2026 · +0.5 pp y/y
Jobs
Civilian labor force
1,747,030
+0.5% vs Aug
-2.6% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Nonfarm payroll employment
1,643.6K
-0.1% vs Aug
+0.1% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Payroll employment, year over year
0.1%
-0.1 pp vs Aug
+0.3 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Housing
Housing units authorized by building permits
839
+25.2% vs Aug
-39.1% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (metro), via FRED
FHFA house price index (all transactions)
492.5
-0.7% vs Q1
-0.5% vs Q2 2025
Q2 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED
House prices, year over year
-0.5%
-1.0 pp vs Q1
-0.9 pp vs Q2 2025
Q2 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Median listing price
$569,900
-0.9% vs Aug
-4.9% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Active listings
13,365
+2.8% vs Aug
+6.7% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Median days on market
58
+1.8% vs Aug
-3.3% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Wages
Average weekly wages, all covered employment
$1,842
+1.7% vs Q4
+4.9% vs Q1 2025
Q1 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (metro), via FRED
Prices
Consumer prices, West region, year over year
3.8%
+0.3 pp vs Aug
+0.5 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Consumer Price Index, West region, all items, via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Unemployment by county
| County | Rate | Year ago | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver County | 4.4% | 3.9% | +0.5 pp |
| Arapahoe County | 4.3% | 3.8% | +0.5 pp |
| Jefferson County | 4.1% | 3.6% | +0.5 pp |
| Adams County | 4.6% | 4.0% | +0.6 pp |
| Douglas County | 4.0% | 3.6% | +0.4 pp |
Sep 2026, not seasonally adjusted. Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED.
Why Denver
Denver's labor market cooled from one of the tightest in the country, and its housing market, among the first to turn in 2022, is a leading read for the Mountain West. The West region CPI is shown; the BLS Denver index is bi-monthly.
Questions readers ask
- What is the unemployment rate in Denver?
- The Denver metro unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Local Area Unemployment Statistics figure for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan statistical area, not seasonally adjusted, published about six weeks after the month ends. The headline at the top of this page is the latest print; the county table shows how Denver County, Arapahoe County, Jefferson County, Adams County and Douglas County compare.
- How many jobs does the Denver metro have?
- Nonfarm payroll employment counts jobs on employer payrolls in the metro, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, from the BLS Current Employment Statistics survey. The year-over-year line shows whether hiring is accelerating or slowing; it is the cleanest single read on the local labor market.
- Are Denver home prices going up or down?
- Two measures are shown. The FHFA house price index tracks repeat sales of the same homes each quarter, so it measures price change rather than the mix of what sold. The Realtor.com median listing price is the monthly asking price of homes on the market; with active listings and days on market it shows how the market feels to a buyer today.
- Where do these numbers come from?
- Every series is a public federal statistic (BLS, Census Bureau, FHFA) or Realtor.com's monthly housing inventory, retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database. Each figure links to its source series. MarketIntelLabs computes the year-over-year changes and writes the fact sheet; nothing on this page is estimated or modelled.
Fact sheet
Every figure above, as one dated sentence each. This is the text our desk writes from; a local newsroom may quote it with attribution to the source named in each line.
- Denver metro unemployment rate: 4.3% in September 2026, up 0.5 percentage points from 3.8% in September 2025; prior reading 4.6% (August 2026). Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Denver metro civilian labor force: 1,747,030 in September 2026, down 2.6% from 1,793,632 in September 2025; prior reading 1,738,606 (August 2026). Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Denver metro nonfarm payroll employment: 1,643.6 thousand in September 2026, up 0.1% from 1,641.9 thousand in September 2025; prior reading 1,644.7 thousand (August 2026). Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; seasonally adjusted.
- Denver metro payroll employment, year over year: 0.1% in September 2026, up 0.3 percentage points from -0.2% in September 2025; prior reading 0.2% (August 2026). Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; seasonally adjusted.
- Denver metro housing units authorized by building permits: 839 in September 2026, down 39.1% from 1,377 in September 2025; prior reading 670 (August 2026). Source: Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Denver metro FHFA house price index (all transactions): 492.5 in Q2 2026, down 0.5% from 494.8 in Q2 2025; prior reading 495.8 (Q1 2026). Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Denver metro house prices, year over year: -0.5% in Q2 2026, down 0.9 percentage points from 0.5% in Q2 2025; prior reading 0.6% (Q1 2026). Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; not seasonally adjusted.
- Denver metro median listing price: $569,900 in September 2026, down 4.9% from $599,450 in September 2025; prior reading $574,900 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Denver metro active listings: 13,365 in September 2026, up 6.7% from 12,523 in September 2025; prior reading 12,998 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Denver metro median days on market: 58 in September 2026, down 3.3% from 60 in September 2025; prior reading 57 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Denver metro average weekly wages, all covered employment: $1,842 in Q1 2026, up 4.9% from $1,756 in Q1 2025; prior reading $1,812 (Q4 2025). Source: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (metro), via FRED; seasonally adjusted.
- Denver metro consumer prices, West region, year over year: 3.8% in September 2026, up 0.5 percentage points from 3.3% in September 2025; prior reading 3.5% (August 2026). Source: BLS Consumer Price Index, West region, all items, via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; not seasonally adjusted.
- Denver County unemployment rate: 4.4% in September 2026, up 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Arapahoe County unemployment rate: 4.3% in September 2026, up 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Jefferson County unemployment rate: 4.1% in September 2026, up 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Adams County unemployment rate: 4.6% in September 2026, up 0.6 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Douglas County unemployment rate: 4.0% in September 2026, up 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
Fact sheet id 387e9cfee3f5 · data through Sep 2026
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