ColoradoElevated
Ranking 30 of 50 states and DC, with its cliff severity (90th percentile) as the strongest driver. 12% of the population — 722,633 people — earns in the income range where benefit phase-outs overlap. Childcare (CCDF) is the primary cliff driver. Each dimension below shows its component score, the underlying metrics, and how Colorado compares to all 50 states and DC.
A score of 78 means cliff conditions are more severe than in 78% of U.S. counties. State policy can shift the overall score by up to 25%. Even communities with low scores have families facing steep cliffs — the score measures how a place compares, not what any individual family experiences. Full methodology →
Population Exposure
How many people earn in the income range where benefit phase-outs concentrate — and who they are. 722,633 people in Colorado earn in the cliff zone — between 100% and 200% of the federal poverty level — where SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and other major programs phase out.
Population by family type across income bands. Use the tabs to see how this splits by working status or program enrollment — families enrolled in more programs face steeper compound cliffs when income rises.
Cliff Severity
How steeply benefits drop when families earn more. The chart below shows the share of each additional dollar lost to benefit reductions and taxes at each wage level. When the line exceeds 100%, a raise leaves the family worse off. Childcare (CCDF) creates the largest benefit loss at the cliff point in 100% of Colorado’s counties.
Rates are averaged over a $2.50/hr raise, matching the Upward Mobility Act’s proposed 50% cap. This chart uses Colorado’s program rules and local costs. Rates assume full program enrollment — most families are not enrolled in all programs simultaneously. Hover to see which programs drive each peak.
The Upward Mobility Act of 2026 uses this same measure — Marginal Effective Tax Rate — and proposes capping it at 50% for families receiving means-tested benefits.
Economic Vulnerability
Whether the local economy positions families where benefit phase-outs are most likely to trigger — and whether advancement is realistic. The chart below shows what cliff-zone industries actually pay, compared to what each family type needs to earn to clear benefit phase-outs.
Policy Environment
State policies that moderate or amplify cliff severity. Each sub-score runs 0 to 100 — lower means the state does more to mitigate cliffs in that area. The four combine into a multiplier that shifts the overall CLIFF Score by up to 25%. Same for all counties in a state.
Colorado has taken 12 policy actions addressing benefit cliffs across 5 legislative periods.
2024-2025
- Colorado passed HB24-1311 Family Affordability Tax Credit, a tax credit that is disregarded as income for SNAP, TANF, Child Care, LIHEAP, or Medicaid/CHIP benefit eligibility
- TANF asset test removed for all TANF applicants
- $90 earned income now disregarded in TANF for all applicants.
2022-2023
- Colorado passed HB22-1259 that includes:; TANF 100% income disregard during the remainder of the certification period in which the income began.; TANF extensions past 60-months.; TANF sanctions...
- SB52, 2022 Passed - raised income limits for Medicaid to 195% FPL and CHIP to 260% FPL
- HB1380 passed - states now required to implement a work management system that interfaces with benefits system and integrates SNAP eligibility and enrollment criteria with low income energey...
- All current child support payments are passed through and disregarded when determining TANF eligibility
- Colorado (H 1259, 2022) passed.
2020-2021
- Colorado applied for and received ASCEND at the Aspen Institute Family Prosperity grant for start up funding for benefits cliff mitigation work
2018-2019
- Expanded income tax credit for child care expenses so that those with income of $60,000 or less received a state tax credit of 50% of child care expenses claimed on federal tax return
- CCAP Eligibility set at 185% FPL
2016-2017
- TANF Time Limit Policy Changed: Extensions beyond TANF's 5-year time limit were now granted in specific cases (e.g., if supportive services aren't available, those months won't count against time...
Economic Impact
About 58,488 working families in Colorado earn in the cliff zone. Based on a 2025 survey of benefit recipients, we estimate roughly 1 in 6 are actively limiting their earnings to protect their benefits — declining raises, refusing hours, or passing up better-paying jobs. Each family foregoes an estimated $2,100 per year. Those lost wages mean less economic activity in local communities — and benefit spending continues because families remain below eligibility thresholds. The total: an estimated $48M per year.
That figure captures only what we can measure. It doesn't capture years of stalled careers, children growing up in financial instability, or families for whom entering the workforce would mean losing more in benefits than they gain in wages.
Estimated annual cost
$48M
Modeled from survey-reported behavioral rates (CSD/Washington University 2025) and Census ACS population data. Click any row for methodology.
58,488 families × 16% avoidance × ~$2,100/yr × multiplier + benefit continuation = $48M
What this excludes: Multi-year career stagnation, health impacts of benefit loss, educational outcomes for children in families navigating benefit phase-outs, and families for whom entering the workforce would mean losing more in benefits than they gain in wages. This estimate captures only the measurable portion — the actual cost to Colorado is substantially higher. Full methodology →
Geographic Data
Explore cliff severity across Colorado’s 64 counties and 8 congressional districts. The map is shaded by CLIFF Score by default — use the tabs to switch views. Click any county to inspect, or click a second to compare. Toggle to Congressional to see district-level cliff-zone data.
Composite severity score (0–100) combining exposure, severity, vulnerability, and policy.
Click any county to inspect
| CountyCounty↕ | CLIFF ScoreScore↓ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families at RiskFamilies↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County | 80Severe | 530,225 | 14.0% | 14,766 | 493% |
| Moffat County | 77High | 13,207 | 25.0% | 830 | 458% |
| Fremont County | 76High | 49,634 | 22.7% | 2,133 | 517% |
| Crowley County | 75High | 5,647 | 30.6% | 199 | 352% |
| Costilla County | 74High | 3,607 | 28.6% | 280 | 352% |
| Lincoln County | 72High | 5,550 | 24.4% | 251 | 367% |
| Rio Blanco County | 71High | 6,544 | 16.5% | 210 | 479% |
| Weld County | 69High | 350,396 | 14.2% | 11,208 | 452% |
| Washington County | 69High | 4,831 | 19.0% | 234 | 501% |
| Alamosa County | 68High | 16,581 | 28.3% | 972 | 259% |
| Sedgwick County | 66High | 2,304 | 29.5% | 132 | 282% |
| El Paso County | 64High | 742,999 | 14.0% | 22,152 | 467% |
| Kiowa County | 64High | 1,376 | 25.0% | 69 | 297% |
| Garfield County | 63High | 62,479 | 13.0% | 1,606 | 495% |
| Arapahoe County | 62High | 659,844 | 11.6% | 14,888 | 838% |
| Pueblo County | 62High | 169,356 | 20.5% | 7,251 | 362% |
| Conejos County | 62High | 7,530 | 27.1% | 492 | 278% |
| Saguache County | 62High | 6,580 | 23.3% | 396 | 341% |
| Mineral County | 62High | 729 | 19.2% | 45 | 509% |
| Jackson County | 61High | 1,372 | 29.5% | 131 | 521% |
Data Explorer
Interactive demographic breakdowns of Colorado’s cliff-zone population — by race, education, industry, age, and family type. Sourced from Census PUMS microdata.
Who is in Colorado’s cliff zone?
The chart below shows every person in Colorado’s cliff zone — the income range where benefit phase-outs from multiple programs overlap — broken down by who they are. Each bar is a 10-point income band (100–109% FPL, 110–119%, etc.). The colored segments show how that income band breaks down by the selected dimension.
Use Color by to switch between race, education, industry, age, family type, and other dimensions. Use Filter to focus on a specific group — single mothers, workers in a particular industry, households with children. The data table below the chart shows exact counts and percentages.
Source: Census ACS PUMS 2020–2024, individual-level records weighted to reflect the full population. This shows who is structurally exposed to cliffs based on where their income falls — not who has actually experienced a benefit loss.
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