Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Colorado with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Colorado that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Colorado at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Timnath.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Colorado reading:
- Best Counties To Live In Colorado
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Colorado
- Best Places To Retire In Colorado
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Colorado For 2026
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Population: 5,306
Median Home Price: $298,241
Population Change: 0.1%
Home Price Change: -0.4%
More on Brush: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,861
Median Home Price: $700,439
Population Change: 1.3%
Home Price Change: -1.2%
More on Salida: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 10,130
Median Home Price: $495,599
Population Change: 8.9%
Home Price Change: -1.3%
More on Severance: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,867
Median Home Price: $466,373
Population Change: 0.6%
Home Price Change: 0.7%
More on Eaton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 6,005
Median Home Price: $436,932
Population Change: -0.4%
Home Price Change: 1.8%
More on Sheridan: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 6,530
Median Home Price: $502,450
Population Change: 1.7%
Home Price Change: -1.8%
More on Dacono: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,844
Median Home Price: $684,046
Population Change: -0.6%
Home Price Change: 0.1%
More on Estes Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 6,766
Median Home Price: $620,585
Population Change: 0.8%
Home Price Change: 1.2%
More on Gunnison: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Colorado for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 11. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Colorado. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Colorado with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Colorado with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Colorado, only 77 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 77 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Timnath is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Centennial State.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Colorado for 2026
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Colorado. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Colorado are Timnath, Mead, Brush, Salida, Severance, Eaton, Sheridan, Dacono, Estes Park, and Gunnison.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Colorado reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Colorado
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timnath | 8,941 | $675,534 | 11.7% | 0.2% |
| 2 | Mead | 5,919 | $556,277 | 7.6% | -1.0% |
| 3 | Brush | 5,306 | $298,241 | 0.1% | -0.4% |
| 4 | Salida | 5,861 | $700,439 | 1.3% | -1.2% |
| 5 | Severance | 10,130 | $495,599 | 8.9% | -1.3% |
| 6 | Eaton | 5,867 | $466,373 | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| 7 | Sheridan | 6,005 | $436,932 | -0.4% | 1.8% |
| 8 | Dacono | 6,530 | $502,450 | 1.7% | -1.8% |
| 9 | Estes Park | 5,844 | $684,046 | -0.6% | 0.1% |
| 10 | Gunnison | 6,766 | $620,585 | 0.8% | 1.2% |
| 11 | Carbondale | 6,637 | $1,437,953 | 1.3% | 1.7% |
| 12 | Cherry Hills Village | 6,354 | $3,182,802 | -0.2% | 5.4% |
| 13 | Avon | 5,972 | $1,258,435 | -1.4% | -0.1% |
| 14 | Lochbuie | 8,609 | $464,474 | 5.7% | -1.5% |
| 15 | Eagle | 7,442 | $1,028,574 | -0.5% | 2.2% |
| 16 | La Junta | 7,140 | $158,562 | -1.0% | -1.8% |
| 17 | Gypsum | 8,941 | $699,182 | 5.4% | -1.2% |
| 18 | Lamar | 7,611 | $180,906 | -0.2% | 5.0% |
| 19 | Monument | 11,735 | $755,938 | 6.3% | -0.4% |
| 20 | Aspen | 6,756 | $3,535,612 | -1.5% | 2.2% |
| 21 | Milliken | 8,871 | $450,806 | 2.0% | 0.3% |
| 22 | Woodland Park | 7,949 | $534,081 | 0.5% | -1.3% |
| 23 | Trinidad | 8,286 | $230,017 | -0.3% | -3.1% |
| 24 | Berthoud | 12,411 | $606,279 | 6.2% | -0.9% |
| 25 | Fort Lupton | 8,897 | $464,448 | 4.7% | -1.7% |
| 26 | Wellington | 11,798 | $470,775 | 2.3% | 0.1% |
| 27 | Cortez | 8,976 | $339,963 | 0.9% | -0.8% |
| 28 | Delta | 9,421 | $368,017 | 1.7% | 1.1% |
| 29 | Craig | 8,991 | $304,796 | -0.3% | -1.1% |
| 30 | Alamosa | 9,879 | $314,612 | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| 31 | Rifle | 10,570 | $497,316 | 1.0% | 1.5% |
| 32 | Glenwood Springs | 10,241 | $869,620 | 0.7% | -0.3% |
| 33 | Frederick | 16,651 | $544,141 | 4.8% | -0.9% |
| 34 | Castle Pines | 13,388 | $895,088 | 6.5% | 0.9% |
| 35 | Fort Morgan | 11,605 | $328,287 | 0.7% | -0.2% |
| 36 | Steamboat Springs | 13,433 | $1,310,882 | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| 37 | Firestone | 18,049 | $570,741 | 4.0% | -0.3% |
| 38 | Superior | 13,305 | $833,348 | 1.3% | 2.5% |
| 39 | Lone Tree | 14,147 | $894,852 | 0.1% | 1.4% |
| 40 | Federal Heights | 14,125 | $399,108 | -0.2% | -0.7% |
| 41 | Fruita | 13,691 | $480,864 | 0.8% | 1.3% |
| 42 | John | 18,883 | $542,746 | 4.5% | 2.2% |
| 43 | Sterling | 13,172 | $244,758 | -0.8% | -0.3% |
| 44 | Greenwood Village | 15,420 | $1,414,364 | -0.4% | 3.7% |
| 45 | Louisville | 20,786 | $837,472 | -0.0% | 2.1% |
| 46 | Montrose | 21,044 | $467,130 | 1.6% | 1.3% |
| 47 | Durango | 19,411 | $747,772 | 0.8% | -0.2% |
| 48 | Golden | 20,417 | $863,814 | -0.2% | 0.9% |
| 49 | Evans | 22,396 | $394,719 | 0.6% | -0.5% |
| 50 | Windsor | 37,914 | $577,242 | 5.6% | -1.5% |
| 51 | Erie | 33,808 | $725,090 | 5.9% | -0.2% |
| 52 | Lafayette | 30,602 | $676,850 | 0.4% | 0.9% |
| 53 | Fountain | 29,300 | $394,609 | -0.1% | 0.2% |
| 54 | Wheat Ridge | 32,070 | $606,403 | -0.3% | 0.7% |
| 55 | Englewood | 34,129 | $516,656 | 1.1% | 1.9% |
| 56 | Brighton | 42,059 | $498,700 | 2.1% | 0.1% |
| 57 | Northglenn | 38,014 | $463,885 | 0.2% | 1.0% |
| 58 | Littleton | 44,710 | $634,610 | -0.8% | 0.7% |
| 59 | Parker | 61,783 | $688,177 | 2.8% | 0.2% |
| 60 | Commerce City | 66,445 | $490,702 | 2.8% | -1.1% |
| 61 | Grand Junction | 68,142 | $422,319 | 1.7% | 0.9% |
| 62 | Castle Rock | 79,123 | $672,107 | 3.3% | 0.9% |
| 63 | Broomfield | 76,304 | $632,201 | 1.6% | 1.0% |
| 64 | Loveland | 78,410 | $500,792 | 1.4% | 0.1% |
| 65 | Longmont | 99,406 | $556,720 | 0.5% | 0.7% |
| 66 | Greeley | 110,806 | $420,463 | 1.3% | 0.1% |
| 67 | Boulder | 106,433 | $964,530 | 0.1% | 1.7% |
| 68 | Centennial | 108,201 | $649,085 | 0.8% | 1.6% |
| 69 | Pueblo | 111,561 | $283,603 | 0.0% | -1.1% |
| 70 | Westminster | 115,484 | $527,653 | -0.1% | 0.9% |
| 71 | Arvada | 122,634 | $616,566 | -0.2% | 1.2% |
| 72 | Thornton | 144,187 | $502,944 | 0.9% | 0.5% |
| 73 | Lakewood | 156,583 | $573,912 | 0.2% | 0.9% |
| 74 | Fort Collins | 170,229 | $563,815 | 0.3% | 1.7% |
| 75 | Aurora | 394,432 | $463,080 | 1.1% | -0.0% |
| 76 | Colorado Springs | 487,887 | $449,451 | 1.0% | 0.2% |
| 77 | Denver | 718,877 | $539,666 | 0.7% | 0.7% |