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Cliff-Zone Families
111,741
Total Wage Suppression
$81.3M
State Avg Cliff Zone
12.6%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Colorado, an estimated 111,741 families across 64 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso County | 742,999 | 14.0% | 17,431 | $12.7M | 661% |
| Denver County | 718,877 | 12.9% | 12,900 | $9.4M | 653% |
| Adams County | 530,225 | 14.0% | 12,177 | $8.9M | 653% |
| Arapahoe County | 659,844 | 11.6% | 12,013 | $8.7M | 653% |
| Weld County | 350,396 | 14.2% | 8,902 | $6.5M | 665% |
| Jefferson County | 579,377 | 8.6% | 7,132 | $5.2M | 653% |
| Larimer County | 367,368 | 11.9% | 5,684 | $4.1M | 661% |
| Pueblo County | 169,356 | 20.5% | 4,776 | $3.5M | 665% |
| Boulder County | 328,961 | 10.4% | 3,916 | $2.9M | 653% |
| Mesa County | 158,601 | 17.3% | 3,808 | $2.8M | 665% |
| Douglas County | 377,150 | 4.8% | 3,100 | $2.3M | 653% |
| Montrose County | 43,807 | 18.3% | 1,298 | $945K | 665% |
| Fremont County | 49,634 | 22.7% | 1,285 | $935K | 665% |
| Garfield County | 62,479 | 13.0% | 1,283 | $934K | 665% |
| La Plata County | 56,331 | 13.0% | 1,158 | $843K | 665% |
| Eagle County | 55,135 | 13.5% | 984 | $716K | 653% |
| Montezuma County | 26,412 | 19.2% | 828 | $603K | 665% |
| Morgan County | 29,520 | 17.9% | 762 | $555K | 665% |
| Delta County | 31,598 | 20.4% | 750 | $546K | 664% |
| Alamosa County | 16,581 | 28.3% | 722 | $526K | 664% |
| Broomfield County | 76,304 | 6.3% | 693 | $505K | 653% |
| Otero County | 18,321 | 24.0% | 668 | $486K | 664% |
| Moffat County | 13,207 | 25.0% | 637 | $464K | 665% |
| Prowers County | 11,910 | 23.8% | 617 | $449K | 664% |
| Routt County | 25,084 | 11.6% | 576 | $419K | 653% |
| Logan County | 20,892 | 21.3% | 500 | $364K | 664% |
| Las Animas County | 14,413 | 18.2% | 446 | $325K | 665% |
| Teller County | 24,825 | 10.9% | 424 | $309K | 665% |
| Archuleta County | 13,900 | 22.4% | 408 | $297K | 665% |
| Chaffee County | 20,178 | 12.4% | 396 | $288K | 665% |
| Summit County | 31,017 | 11.6% | 359 | $261K | 653% |
| Elbert County | 27,874 | 5.9% | 359 | $261K | 653% |
| Park County | 17,907 | 7.2% | 351 | $256K | 653% |
| Conejos County | 7,530 | 27.1% | 321 | $234K | 664% |
| Kit Carson County | 7,023 | 21.3% | 269 | $196K | 664% |
| Saguache County | 6,580 | 23.3% | 249 | $181K | 664% |
| Gilpin County | 5,901 | 14.7% | 228 | $166K | 653% |
| San Miguel County | 7,968 | 16.0% | 225 | $164K | 665% |
| Gunnison County | 17,241 | 11.9% | 222 | $162K | 665% |
| Rio Grande County | 11,321 | 11.4% | 218 | $159K | 664% |
| Huerfano County | 6,972 | 22.9% | 196 | $143K | 664% |
| Grand County | 15,895 | 11.9% | 194 | $141K | 665% |
| Pitkin County | 16,985 | 9.0% | 191 | $139K | 653% |
| Yuma County | 9,979 | 12.9% | 169 | $123K | 664% |
| Lincoln County | 5,550 | 24.4% | 164 | $119K | 664% |
| Washington County | 4,831 | 19.0% | 164 | $119K | 664% |
| Rio Blanco County | 6,544 | 16.5% | 159 | $116K | 664% |
| Costilla County | 3,607 | 28.6% | 134 | $98K | 664% |
| Lake County | 7,380 | 10.6% | 129 | $94K | 665% |
| Clear Creek County | 9,262 | 6.9% | 110 | $80K | 653% |
| Baca County | 3,428 | 26.2% | 110 | $80K | 664% |
| Crowley County | 5,647 | 30.6% | 109 | $79K | 665% |
| Custer County | 5,247 | 15.0% | 108 | $79K | 664% |
| Dolores County | 2,432 | 11.8% | 107 | $78K | 664% |
| Bent County | 5,549 | 17.2% | 105 | $76K | 664% |
| Ouray County | 5,087 | 13.0% | 95 | $69K | 665% |
| Sedgwick County | 2,304 | 29.5% | 85 | $62K | 664% |
| Jackson County | 1,372 | 29.5% | 83 | $60K | 664% |
| Phillips County | 4,496 | 13.9% | 80 | $58K | 664% |
| Cheyenne County | 1,741 | 20.3% | 77 | $56K | 664% |
| Kiowa County | 1,376 | 25.0% | 46 | $33K | 665% |
| Mineral County | 729 | 19.2% | 25 | $18K | 665% |
| Hinsdale County | 1,005 | 13.8% | 18 | $13K | 665% |
| San Juan County | 724 | 11.3% | 8 | $6K | 665% |
64 of 64 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.