Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Colorado a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Colorado.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Centennial State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Colorado, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 64 counties in the state.
Douglas County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Colorado. And you should avoid Bent County if you can — at least according to the data.
$149,594 median income · 3.6% unemployment
$102,645 median income · 2.5% unemployment
$106,489 median income · 2.4% unemployment
$132,685 median income · 3.4% unemployment
$123,874 median income · 3.8% unemployment
$103,670 median income · 3.3% unemployment
$110,656 median income · 3.9% unemployment
$75,972 median income · 0.0% unemployment
$103,994 median income · 4.8% unemployment
$91,020 median income · 3.5% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Colorado’s statewide median.
Colorado statewide median: $95,470
Colorado statewide median: $541,842
Colorado statewide median: 4.6%
On the map
Where Colorado’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which Colorado county is the best?
To give you the best county in Colorado, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in Colorado across each of the criteria from one to 64, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Colorado.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Centennial State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in Colorado.
Read on to see why Douglas County is the best county, while Bent County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Colorado.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Colorado
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douglas County | 377,150 | $149,594 | $712,073 |
| 2 | Pitkin County | 16,985 | $102,645 | $2,661,788 |
| 3 | Routt County | 25,084 | $106,489 | $1,123,458 |
| 4 | Elbert County | 27,874 | $132,685 | $682,939 |
| 5 | Broomfield County | 76,304 | $123,874 | $629,328 |
| 6 | Park County | 17,907 | $103,670 | $521,571 |
| 7 | Jefferson County | 579,377 | $110,656 | $630,481 |
| 8 | Hinsdale County | 1,005 | $75,972 | $472,780 |
| 9 | Boulder County | 328,961 | $103,994 | $725,126 |
| 10 | Ouray County | 5,087 | $91,020 | $795,988 |
| 11 | Gunnison County | 17,241 | $84,527 | $713,232 |
| 12 | Gilpin County | 5,901 | $95,361 | $547,968 |
| 13 | Clear Creek County | 9,262 | $94,577 | $563,107 |
| 14 | Archuleta County | 13,900 | $83,065 | $566,277 |
| 15 | Teller County | 24,825 | $85,361 | $479,238 |
| 16 | Summit County | 31,017 | $109,773 | $987,547 |
| 17 | San Miguel County | 7,968 | $79,024 | $1,581,198 |
| 18 | Eagle County | 55,135 | $104,096 | $1,311,797 |
| 18 | Chaffee County | 20,178 | $84,132 | $680,807 |
| 20 | Grand County | 15,895 | $88,612 | $749,416 |
| 21 | Larimer County | 367,368 | $93,765 | $552,909 |
| 22 | La Plata County | 56,331 | $86,056 | $673,258 |
| 23 | Lake County | 7,380 | $96,575 | $513,522 |
| 24 | Cheyenne County | 1,741 | $70,865 | $196,506 |
| 25 | El Paso County | 742,999 | $90,363 | $454,740 |
| 26 | Rio Blanco County | 6,544 | $65,473 | $330,882 |
| 27 | Custer County | 5,247 | $72,674 | $410,602 |
| 28 | Arapahoe County | 659,844 | $101,087 | $517,194 |
| 29 | Washington County | 4,831 | $67,167 | $268,630 |
| 30 | Garfield County | 62,479 | $91,131 | $708,392 |
| 31 | Weld County | 350,396 | $97,097 | $494,686 |
| 32 | Denver County | 718,877 | $94,718 | $546,602 |
| 33 | Dolores County | 2,432 | $64,907 | $306,338 |
| 34 | Lincoln County | 5,550 | $62,861 | $263,357 |
| 35 | Kiowa County | 1,376 | $58,618 | $181,076 |
| 36 | Fremont County | 49,634 | $62,664 | $336,800 |
| 36 | San Juan County | 724 | $77,824 | $551,662 |
| 38 | Moffat County | 13,207 | $73,849 | $301,764 |
| 39 | Mesa County | 158,601 | $73,658 | $430,881 |
| 40 | Adams County | 530,225 | $94,571 | $486,343 |
| 41 | Kit Carson County | 7,023 | $70,259 | $238,814 |
| 42 | Phillips County | 4,496 | $64,674 | $262,121 |
| 43 | Mineral County | 729 | $56,250 | $438,028 |
| 44 | Pueblo County | 169,356 | $64,010 | $284,548 |
| 45 | Sedgwick County | 2,304 | $52,386 | $161,455 |
| 46 | Alamosa County | 16,581 | $55,397 | $324,072 |
| 47 | Montezuma County | 26,412 | $65,244 | $407,795 |
| 48 | Huerfano County | 6,972 | $52,526 | $270,939 |
| 49 | Montrose County | 43,807 | $72,120 | $456,826 |
| 50 | Delta County | 31,598 | $57,774 | $408,110 |
| 51 | Baca County | 3,428 | $46,215 | $123,456 |
| 52 | Logan County | 20,892 | $51,829 | $253,326 |
| 53 | Costilla County | 3,607 | $36,861 | $182,490 |
| 54 | Morgan County | 29,520 | $73,278 | $327,911 |
| 55 | Jackson County | 1,372 | $47,667 | $240,685 |
| 55 | Las Animas County | 14,413 | $52,074 | $241,542 |
| 57 | Conejos County | 7,530 | $50,978 | $211,485 |
| 58 | Prowers County | 11,910 | $53,508 | $175,198 |
| 59 | Rio Grande County | 11,321 | $64,411 | $321,325 |
| 59 | Otero County | 18,321 | $54,037 | $157,784 |
| 61 | Crowley County | 5,647 | $48,826 | $152,856 |
| 62 | Yuma County | 9,979 | $60,545 | $285,313 |
| 63 | Saguache County | 6,580 | $50,082 | $233,072 |
| 64 | Bent County | 5,549 | $50,179 | $117,954 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 64 Colorado counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In Colorado To Call Home For 2026
Living in Colorado can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in Colorado are Douglas County, Pitkin County, Routt County, Elbert County, Broomfield County, Park County, Jefferson County, Hinsdale County, Boulder County, and Ouray County.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
