Denver / Boulder
Boulder has 106,433 residents (give or take 77) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US0807850, checked 2026-10-19), about 3,960 people per square mile.
Boulder is about 27 miles from the Census center point for Denver in a straight line and covers 26.878 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Boulder that is 80301, 80304, 80305, 80310 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
Median household income in Boulder is $87,493 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US0807850, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
3,960 people per square mile puts Boulder in suburban density, where the outdoor unit usually sits in a side yard and the noise is not an issue for neighbors.
39% of Boulder homes are single-family detached, 9% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 43% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US0807850, checked 2026-10-19).
With 43% of Boulder homes in buildings of five or more units and 39% detached, the condo association usually decides where outdoor units can go, so that approval comes before the quote. With 53% of Boulder homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US0807850, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Boulder has 18 points fewer detached houses than Boulder County overall (57%) and 17 points more five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 26% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US08013, checked 2026-10-19).
53% of Boulder homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US0807850, checked 2026-10-19), so the market splits between resident-led jobs where the occupant picks the system and landlord-led jobs where they do not, and the rebate paperwork differs.
Of the 44,432 occupied homes in Boulder, 63% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 33% with electricity and 1% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US0807850, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 63% of Boulder against electricity at 33%, so most quotes here are a partial-home system that carries the shoulder seasons and the summer while the gas furnace handles the coldest nights, or a whole-home system when the house is ready for it.
Boulder has about the Boulder County oil share of 0% and 8 points more electric heat than the county's 25% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US08013, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for Boulder on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
Colorado Heat Pump Tax Credit (HPTC), run by Colorado Energy Office, is a live program for Colorado addresses and lists a standard figure of $1,000 (registry row 4 verified 2026-10-15, https://energyoffice.colorado.gov/hptc, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Boulder address before counting it. With 33% of Boulder homes already on electric heat and 64% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Boulder has 47,465 housing units, 8% built before 1940 and 55% before 1980, with 18% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US0807850, checked 2026-10-19).
Boulder has 8 points fewer homes built after 2000 than the county's 26% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US08013, checked 2026-10-19).
The median Boulder home was built in 1977 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US0807850, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 4.7 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US0807850, checked 2026-10-19).
Heating design temperature: -2F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Boulder County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 14 to 16 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That -2F figure is the Boulder County cold-day number a Boulder heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -2F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 63% of Boulder on gas and 33% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Boulder home has 4.7 rooms and was built around 1977, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Boulder. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Boulder yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.