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Colorado’s Tenant Equity Vehicle: A Pioneering Approach to Renter Wealth Creation
March 10, 2026
Financial Security Program
Heather McCulloch
Senior Fellow
Catherine Toner
Gary Community Ventures
As the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program (Aspen FSP) shared in its Renters’ Wealth report, a significant wealth gap has emerged between renters and homeowners, with renters experiencing a median net worth of $10,400 compared to nearly $400,000 for homeowners.
Colorado’s housing market illustrates this disparity. Between 2015 and 2022, housing costs rose sharply across the state, and by 2022, nearly 50 percent of Coloradans were spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Following the passage of Proposition 123—a ballot measure that sought to increase housing supply and also build households’ long-term financial stability—the Colorado Tenant Equity Vehicle (TEV) emerged as a unique, taxpayer-supported program that enables renters to earn cash back for rent payments and share in the property’s value as it grows over time.
The Colorado TEV demonstrates a novel way to create pathways to prosperity for the 44 million American families who rent—and offers useful lessons to local, state, and national leaders looking to do the same. Learn more about the design, policy, and financing tools that made the TEV possible in this case study from Gary Community Ventures and Aspen FSP.
As part of our essential wealth metric project, Aspen FSP has collaborated closely with our partners at Gary Community Ventures to look specifically at the wealth of Coloradans.
Aspen FSP Fellow Devin Murphy is committed to growing models of wealth building so that all U.S. families can thrive. Learn more about his work in this Q&A.
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Households need tools that help them afford everyday life and build long-term security. Too often, policy systems fail to respond to both of these needs and instead prioritize one goal over the other.
Trump Accounts were signed into law. Now, private and public sector need to work together to make sure these early wealth building accounts help low-income families.
