Dear Editor,

HELP WANTED signs are all over Boulder County. Boulder, Lafayette, Louisville, Niwot, Erie, Longmont, everywhere I go I see the signs. The pharmacy I use is now going to be closed on Saturdays and Sundays because of the shortage of employees. I stopped by the Motor Vehicle office in Boulder, and they are closed on Fridays now. The Daily Camera reported, “The extended hours will provide greater flexibility for community members and is expected to decrease energy use and costs associated with maintaining in-person facilities five days per week, the clerk’s staff said.” (4/20/2021 edition). I really don’t know what costs they are citing but, could be labor associated.

In the past, it was standard for a landlord to charge first month rent and a deposit equal to monthly rent to move into a place. Now, most places require first, last and a deposit plus renter’s insurance is required. You may need over $6000 in savings just to move into a home.

It made me think about what I heard a realtor say a long time ago, “If you can’t find a renter to occupy your rental, you are asking too much.” It made me wonder if the same thing applies to companies looking for help: If you can’t find help, are you paying enough? I have lived in Boulder County since 1985 (with only ten years away while in Florida). A lot has changed since then. To research the data for this article, I brought up a site called rentdata.org. Their maps have counties colored green and red, with red indicating higher rents than the green. When the map for Colorado came up, there were mostly green counties displayed and some red, and wouldn’t you know it, Boulder County was such a dark red, it stood out from the others. The highest rents in Colorado are here in Boulder County. You can look for yourself: https://www.rentdata.org/states/colorado/2020.

Recently, I was looking for a place to rent and learned that landlords require that your rent is no more than three-tenths of your household income. For my calculations, I take that monthly average rent I found online and divide by .3 to get how much a landlord would require a household to earn per month. I then multiply by 12 to get the annual required income. Then I divide by 52 weeks to find the weekly requirement and divide the result by 40 hours to get the hourly income requirement.

The 2020 average data listed for one bedroom in Boulder County is $1,412 per month. Using the above calculation, that one-bedroom in Boulder County requires a full-time job that pays $27.15 per hour. I haven’t stopped in at any of the businesses that displayed Help Wanted signs in their windows, but I would bet not many are offering $27.15 per hour.

Some may say, “Well you would have to share housing or be married.” OK let’s look at that data. A two-bedroom rental in Boulder County averages $1,717 per month. That requires $33 per hour. In other words, two people would have to be working full time at $16.50 per hour to be approved to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Boulder County. What if you have kids and need three bedrooms? Average three-bedroom rental in Boulder County is $2,381. That would require a household income of $45.58 per hour. If there were two adults raising those kids, each would have to be making $22.79 per hour and be at work full time. Child labor laws get in the way of getting your kids to work to help keep the rent paid.

I have a friend who lives in Lafayette and works in Estes Park. He works part-time as he is approaching retirement age and wants time to recreate. Rent on a studio apartment in Estes Park averages $1,107 per month. He would have to switch to full-time and earn $21.28 per hour to even qualify to rent such a place, so instead he drives over an hour to and from work. Granted, it is a beautiful drive, but a lot of gas. Those prices add up (both financially as well as taxing the environment). The place where he works is having a hard time finding qualified workers to fill the open positions. I haven’t asked him what they pay but I’m pretty sure it’s not over $20 per hour.

I know I’m throwing a lot of numbers at you. To sum it up, if you are a business owner in Boulder County and can’t seem to get anyone to apply for the openings you have, you might consider paying more. With rent so high, a single Boulder resident has to make $27.15 per hour to qualify for a one-bedroom apartment. A couple with a family each needs to make $22.79 per hour. Just to qualify to rent an apartment or house here.

I have been a business owner myself, so I know every expense counts. But if you have to cut back your production or the hours you are open due to lack of employees, it makes more sense to raise your pay scale to meet the expenses of the area. That way, you can get the labor hours filled and will have happier employees.

Sue Otness

Peak to Peak