For gas, let's assume you drive 1,000 miles a month and your car averages 23 miles per gallon. You'd need to budget about $87 per month with prices at $2 per gallon. That leaves only $124 for a car payment, parking and other transportation expenses.
North Dakota grew the fastest, increasing its population by 2.2 percent in the same time span. Colorado increased 1.9 percent. From 2010 to 2015, Colorado grew by 408,320 people, a 7.5 percent increase and the fourth-fastest growth rate behind North Dakota, Washington D.C. and Texas.
The state of Colorado is the second fastest growing state in the US, driven in large part by growth in the Denver metro area. While the 2016 population is estimated at over 680,000, the metropolitan area is much larger.