The 10 Best Places To Live In Colorado For 2021

The 10 Best Places To Live In Colorado For 2021

We don't suggest leaving your quality of life in the hands of just any Colorado place, but we do recommend that you leave it in the hands of the experts in Colorado's #1 best place to live, Louisville.

Located slightly southeast of Boulder, this 150 year old city of 20,860 residents has always been committed to fostering community pride, great schools, and a place where work and fun meet at the base of Colorado's Rocky Mountains. And after looking at Louisville's census and SnackAbility numbers, we think that this place is definitely succeeding. It has the lowest unemployment rate and its crime rate is far below the national average making it one of the safest places in the state.

Unfortunately, this level of excellence does come with a hefty price tag. If you want to keep up with the cost of living amongst Louisville's top dawgs, you're going to have to make at least $103,017/year. And if you want to buy a home here, be prepared to drop a cool $587,000.

This is the second year in a row that Parker is the 2nd best place to live in Colorado, but did you know that this city is also number one for the youngest median age at 34. And if you're 34 and single, you're in luck, Parker is one of the top cities in Colorado for singles, too.

There are a number of reasons why youngsters are flocking to this southwest Denver suburb and/or why its population has doubled in the last 15 years. For one, Parker's crime rate is well below the national average making it the 19th safest place on our list. Two, it crushed our SnackAbility scale with an emphasis on jobs, median home price ($420,000, and education. And, three, you can be in Denver and Colorado Springs in 45 minutes.

Simply put, when you mix a bunch of young, motivated professionals with a low cost of living great things can happen.

Everyone knows Vail as the home to Vail Ski Resort, a foundational institution in the town's history. Today, it's home to 5,479 permanent residents and another 5,000 or so part-timers with vacation properties.

The fact that people pay for the most expensive homes in Colorado only to live here part-time tells you something about how truly special Vail is. And while the median home value in Vail is $773,700, the town's cost of living scores for things like groceries, utilities, and services are basically on par with the rest of the country.

Vail has the 5th lowest unemployment rate in Colorado, your average household earns $80,987, and get ready for some stiff competition on pub quiz night, because 65% of Vail's adult population is highly educated.

Don't worry if you're not into winter sports at all. Vail offers all sorts of heady entertainments, like the Vail Film Festival, Bravo! Vail, and Taste of Vail.

If you can't find a way to have fun in Vail, you're doing something wrong.

There are very few things far superior than Superior, Colorado; and now, with our list, they can add this title: 4th best place to live in The Centennial State to their repetare.

To truly know why Superior is one of the best, you have to look at its census numbers. This suburb of Boulder has seen an increase in population by 40% since 2000 making it one of the fastest growing cities in the state. And, friends, this doesn't happen by chance. Superior's cost of living is competitive with the national average. To put this in perspective, Superior's household median income of $127,292/year will help you get one step closer to Superior's hot real estate market. You'll be able to afford the city's median home prices at $576,800 and still be left with a little change in your pocket to enjoy the the fun things this city just outside of Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge has to offer: like, cool biking and hiking trails and camping.

What does your Colorado version of paradise look like? A bunch of golf courses with mountain views? Cost of living that won't break your bank? Great schools? If you answered "yes" to all of these, then you build a life in Colorado's 5th best place to live, Castle Pines.

Castle Pines has four first class golf courses within its city limits--not just any golf courses, two hold five star ratings and attract the likes of https://thevillagecastlepines.com/golf-in-the-village/">Jack Nicklaus on the regular. However, don't worry if you're not pro golf material--the job market in Castle Pines is strong and the unemployment rate here is 2.4%. A word to the wise, you're going to want to make at least $163,819/year so that when you're not hitting the links, you can hit the couch in the home that you just paid the 5th lowest median home price in the state. It doesn't end there--golf tends to attract smart people and Castle Pines is filled with some of the smartest: currently 45% of Castle Pines' residents hold a Bachelor's Degree.

If you favor quality over a bargain, then it shouldn't matter that the home prices here are $422,100 or that you will have to earn $109,700/year to offset your cost of living. Castle Rock is after all one of the wealthiest places on the list; so, if you want to live in Colorado's 6th best place, you're going to have to pay for it.

The good news-Castle Rock has the 11th lowest unemployment rate in Colorado, so finding a good job should be easy. And if you have kids, transferring them into Castle Rock's school system that scored a 9.5/10 for education on our SnackAbility scale should be a piece of cake as well as a blessing. You'll also be happy to know that Castle Park's crime rate is 40% below that national average making this Douglas County town of 62,417 residents one of the safest in the state.

Basically, we can't find one solid reason to not call this place home.

Don't be fooled by the name "Lone Tree" if it's in reference to its rank as Colorado's 7th best place to live. It's actually quite the opposite. There are currently 12,923 friendly residents who live here and there are a multitude of opportunities for meet and greets. In fact, groups of Lone Tree residents love to get together to bike and hike Bluffs Regional Park Trail. Incidentally, don't be surprised if you get asked to have a beer at one Lone Tree's breweries afterwards.....Coloradans really like their craft beer.

But, you're going to need to get a couple of things in order before you make the Lone Tree leap, and those things look like: a secure job (one that pays $120,392 so that you can offset LoneTree's median home price of $634,000), a great bike or hiking shoes so that you can enjoy the outdoors like the rest of "the Trees," and a good car because Denver is a solid 45 minutes away. And if you were worried about Lone Tree's job market, don't be. The unemployment rate here is 2.8% and the percentage of people living in poverty is the 3rd lowest in the state.

But, if we were betting people, we'd bet that Lone Tree is more than ready to take Colorado into the future.

Situated just east of Boulder and north of Denver, Lafayette offers the perfect vision of suburban life. We named it one of the best places to raise a family in Colorado, after all.

31.35% of households have children, but the median age in Lafayette is only 39, so think young, professional couples. And with an Homesnacks education score of 9/10, you know your kids are getting off on the right foot in Lafayette.

Waneka Lake Park is a favorite recreation spot for locals, with fishing, sports fields, trails, grills, and really anything you could want out of a park. As for nightlife, your toughest decision will be whether to finish your day with a pint from Liquid Mechanics or Odd13 Brewing.

The crazy thing? The overall cost of living in Lafayette is barely higher than Colorado's average, making this one of the most affordable spots listed here. The median home value in Lafayette is $422,000 and rent typically goes for around $1,495.

Windsor might not have the guards that keep Windsor Castle protected, but this city is doing something right: the crime rate here is 75% (yes, you read that right) below the national average making this Northern Colorado town the 9th best place to live in The Centennial State.

Located 45 minutes north of Denver, this Fort Collins suburb has all of the bells and whistles: a low unemployment rate (3.2%), a strong job market, great schools, and a bunch of cool stuff to keep the entire family entertained. So, we were not surprised when Windsor ranked one of the best places to raise your family in the state.

Windsor's best practices have also kept its household median income high and its median home prices low which, in turn, keeps a little extra in your bank account to spend a long weekend in Steamboat Springs crushing the blue runs with your family or a day relaxing at one of Windsor's many spas. We call this a Windsor Win!

There's nothing eerie about Erie, Colorado. Matter of fact, it's the 10th best place to live in the state. Yes, Erie has been redefining what it means to live your best life for years, and have proven that it starts with a city's ability to provide a low cost of living, great schools, and endless possibilities.

Erie's overall SnackAbility score and its individual scores for safety (8.5/10), affordable homes (9.5/10), and education (9.5/10) have catapulted this city to the forefront of what makes Colorado great. Erie is the 13th best place to buy a home with median home prices upwards of $468,600. And you can sleep well at night knowing that Erie is one of the safest cities in the state with its current crime rate 50% below the national average. You can also rest easy knowing that Erie spends a large chunk of change on each student--almost $2,000 more than the state average--the state test scores are proof positive that it's working.

How We Calculated The Best Cities To Live In Colorado

Now that we had our set of cities, it was time to rank them.

We ranked each place in Colorado across a number of criteria from one to 74, with one being the best.

We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title "Best Place To Live In Colorado".

The criteria we looked at were:

• Median Home Values
• Median Income
• Population Density (Higher better)
• Unemployment Rate
• Commute Time
• Crime
• Education Levels
• Health Insurance Coverage
• Poverty rates

Sources of criteria include the New Census Data and FBI Crime Data. You can download the data here.

After the dust settled, what was the best place to live in Colorado? That would be Louisville.

If your city or town isn't among the top 10, jump down to the bottom of the post to see a detailed chart of the best places in Colorado.

Otherwise, buckle up for a ride down good living lane with Louisville at the end of the cul-de-sac.