ZIP Code 80521 — Fort Collins city, CO Demographics & Data

ZIP code 80521 covers Fort Collins, CO in Larimer County with a population of about 38,217.

At a glance, the area shows median age of 23.0 versus a U.S. median of about 38.9.

It sits in telephone area code 970; U.S. House district CO-2; the DENVER media market.

Fort Collins, CO reads as a military / base-oriented community on US5’s intent model (base-related place names in city/county context). Service members and families often look up Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rates, on-base mail (PSC / P.O. Box) addresses, and nearby ZIP demographics when relocating.

US5 shows 2026 DoD BAH locality rates for this ZIP’s Military Housing Area on this page (pay grade × with/without dependents). Treat the table as a planning reference and confirm entitlement with your finance office or the official DTMO BAH lookup.

Median household income in ZIP 80521 is about $52,679 — about 30% below the U.S. median ($75,149).

On socioeconomic markers, US5 shows a poverty rate of 32.0%; unemployment rate near 8.4%; 62.7% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher (about 29.0 points above the national share (33.7%)).

Labor and commute patterns include leading industry context around Education, Food services, and Professional services; about 15.5% of workers reporting work-from-home (roughly in line with the U.S. share (15.2%)); a mean commute of about 180.0 minutes (U.S. average near 26.8).

Median home value is about $541,300 — about 56% above the U.S. median home value ($348,079).

Housing tenure and rents show median gross rent around $1,288 (about 11% above the U.S. median rent ($1,163)), and owner-occupancy near 36.9% (about 28.5 points below the national owner-occupancy rate (65.4%)).

To comfortably buy a median-priced home in ZIP 80521 in Fort Collins, CO, a household would need roughly $149,000 in annual income under a 20% down, 30-year loan at 6.8% (illustrative), keeping housing costs near 28% of income. Estimated monthly PITI is about $3,477. That is about 183% above the local median household income ($52,679), so the median earner would likely stretch or need a larger down payment. Rates, taxes, insurance, and HOA fees vary — treat this as a planning estimate, not a lender quote.

FEMA’s National Risk Index rates natural-hazard risk for Fort Collins city, CO as Relatively Moderate (composite score 90.1), which is among the highest nationally. The strongest component scores on US5 are wildfire (97.7) and flood (89.4). These scores are county-linked NRI values published for planning context — all ZIP codes in the same county share the same composite score on US5. Useful when comparing insurance and disaster exposure across areas, not a substitute for a parcel-level flood or fire determination.

Climate normals for Fort Collins city, CO show little to no average snow and around 15.9 inches of annual precipitation.

IRS migration statistics show a net inflow of about 1,747 for ZIP 80521 (Fort Collins city, CO) on US5’s published series — a signal of people/tax filers moving in relative to those leaving. Inflows often track job growth, housing demand, or lifestyle migration; treat the figure as a directional indicator rather than a precise headcount.