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HUD data

Difficult Development Areas in Colorado (2026)

HUD's Colorado DDA designations — metro SDDA ZIP codes and non-metro counties where costs run high against local incomes. Each qualifies for LIHTC's 30% basis boost.
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Total DDAs
44
Metro SDDA ZIPs
34
Non-Metro county DDAs
10

Non-metro county DDAs

CountyDDA code
La Plata CountyNCNTY08067N08067
Summit CountyNCNTY08117N08117
Ouray CountyNCNTY08091N08091
Routt CountyNCNTY08107N08107
San Miguel CountyNCNTY08113N08113
Eagle CountyNCNTY08037N08037
Crowley CountyNCNTY08025N08025
Garfield CountyNCNTY08045N08045
Pitkin CountyNCNTY08097N08097
Mineral CountyNCNTY08079N08079

Metro SDDA ZIP codes

ZIPMetro area
80007Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80018Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80125Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80126Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80129Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80130Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80132Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80202Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80249Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80290Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80465Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80516Boulder, CO MSA
80516Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80516Greeley, CO MSA
80530Greeley, CO MSA
80549Fort Collins-Loveland, CO MSA
80549Greeley, CO MSA
80602Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO MSA
80817Pueblo, CO MSA
80831Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80840Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80902Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80913Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80920Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80921Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80922Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80923Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80924Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80925Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80927Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80929Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80930Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80938Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
80951Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area

What is a Difficult Development Area?

HUD designates a metro ZIP code (SDDA) or non-metro county as a DDA when its Fair Market Rent or construction costs are high relative to area median income. New LIHTC construction in a DDA qualifies for a 130% qualified basis — the same 30% boost QCTs receive. For Colorado investors, DDA and QCT overlays together map where affordable-housing capital is flowing hardest.

All states →QCTs in ColoradoFair Market Rents in ColoradoSection 8 DSCR loans in Colorado

Colorado Difficult Development Areas — FAQs

What is a Difficult Development Area in Colorado?

A Difficult Development Area (DDA) is a HUD-designated metro ZIP code or non-metro county where land, construction, and utility costs are high relative to Area Median Income. HUD republishes the Colorado list annually.

What is the LIHTC basis boost for a DDA?

A LIHTC project in a designated DDA may qualify for a 30% increase in eligible basis — the same boost available in a Qualified Census Tract — which raises the credit amount the project can claim.

What is the difference between an SDDA and a non-metro DDA?

Small Area DDAs (SDDAs) are designated at the ZIP-code level inside metro areas, so one Colorado metro can contain both designated and undesignated ZIPs. Non-metro DDAs are designated at the county level.

How do DDAs affect an investor buying a rental?

DDA status signals a high-cost submarket relative to local incomes, which usually means higher purchase prices and construction budgets. It does not change loan eligibility on its own; business-purpose financing is underwritten on the property's economics and lender guidelines.

Local market news & updates

What the latest published data says about Colorado

Every update below is a published figure from a named federal source, shown with the exact period that source covers. Where a dataset is only produced at county or state level, it is labelled that way rather than presented as city data. These are market statistics for informational purposes only — they are not rates, loan terms, or an offer of credit.

  • State dataData through ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    Colorado housing costs — ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    The most recent published Census reading for Colorado shows a median owner-occupied home value of $502,200, a median gross rent of $1,693 per month, a two-bedroom median rent of $1,713, a three-bedroom median rent of $1,969. These are survey estimates for the period shown, not live listing prices, and they are the starting point investors use to sanity-check a rent assumption before underwriting a DSCR file.

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey

  • State dataData through ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    Colorado renter demand indicators — ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    Census reports a population of 5,810,774, a median household income of $92,470, a rental vacancy estimate of 8.6% for Colorado. Income and vacancy set the practical ceiling on achievable rent, which is what a DSCR calculation is ultimately built on.

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey

Source periods represented above: ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023. Each figure updates only when its publisher releases a new period — we never restamp an older reading with a newer date.

Informational market data only. Nothing in this section is a rate, an annual percentage rate, a payment, a loan term, an approval, or an offer or commitment to lend. Citing a federal dataset does not imply the agency endorses, sponsors or is affiliated with Simply Approved Mortgages LLC (NMLS #2620881). Financing referenced on this page is business-purpose investment property financing.

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How We Evaluate This Scenario

A DSCR file is judged on the property, not your tax returns: qualifying rent divided by PITIA — principal, interest, taxes, insurance, plus HOA and flood where they apply. Most programs use the lesser of the in-place lease rent and the appraiser's market rent, so a lease signed below market usually caps the ratio no matter how strong the comps look.

Three inputs move the outcome more than anything else: rent support on the appraiser's rent schedule (Form 1007 or 1025), the LTV tier, and the credit tier. Dropping leverage by five points or moving up a FICO band frequently changes pricing more than shopping a different lender does.

Before you write an offer, price taxes and insurance at post-sale levels rather than the seller's current bill. In reassess-on-transfer states and in coastal insurance markets, that single adjustment is the most common reason a deal that penciled at contract fails the ratio at underwriting.

Reviewed by Simply Approved Mortgages · NMLS #2620881. Business-purpose investor lending only.

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