Larimer County is putting hard numbers to its housing crunch, and the picture is not pretty. The county and its partner cities, Fort Collins and Loveland, have rolled out a Regional Housing Needs Assessment alongside an interactive Housing Needs Dashboard that details a multiyear shortfall. The new analysis identifies an immediate "catch-up" need of about 3,394 homes and a projected "keep-up" need of roughly 14,502 additional units by 2035.
The county announced the dashboard’s debut in a May 16 Facebook post, and its housing office is now hosting the full assessment and dashboard for anyone who wants to dig into the data. According to Larimer County Government on Facebook, the assessment was completed with Fort Collins and Loveland and will steer local Housing Action Plans and state funding requests.
What the report found
The final report from Root Policy Research spells out both current shortages and future demand. Right now, about 3,394 catch-up units are needed, including roughly 2,109 rentals. Looking ahead, the report projects about 14,502 new homes will be required by 2035 to keep pace with expected household growth.
The analysis also underscores how tight the rental market has become. Median rents in parts of the region climbed roughly 30–41% between 2018 and 2023, while vacancy rates in Fort Collins and Loveland remain low. As outlined in the final report from Root Policy Research, the shortfall hits hardest at the lowest income levels, where subsidized units are particularly scarce.
What this means for local policy
The assessment satisfies Colorado’s SB24-174 requirements and sets the stage for detailed Housing Action Plans that each jurisdiction must produce. Fort Collins has already appropriated a planning grant from the state’s Division of Local Affairs to craft its Housing Action Plan, and the city’s ordinance lays out the grant award and schedule. The state program itself is detailed in guidance from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, while the specific local award is documented in an ordinance from Fort Collins.
How to use the dashboard
The interactive dashboard lets users slice the numbers by jurisdiction, income level, and whether households rent or own, making it a tool for residents, developers, and policymakers who want to see exactly where the gaps are sharpest. Larimer County’s housing page notes that the dashboard works best on a desktop or tablet and links directly to the full report and presentation materials. Local planning documents also outline public meetings and code-review timelines keyed to the housing needs findings. For those details, see the housing portal from Larimer County and a planning memo from Loveland.
County officials say the Housing Needs Assessment and dashboard are meant to be starting points for hard conversations about zoning, development incentives, and where to target scarce subsidy dollars. They expect the data to guide grant applications and code updates over the next two years. Residents who want to explore the numbers or weigh in on upcoming Housing Action Plans can find both the dashboard and the full assessment on Larimer County’s housing site.
