$1,197 median rent · $70,386 median income · #5 cheapest rent in Colorado
Located in
Montrose County, Colorado
The City of Montrose is the Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,132 at the 2010 United States Census. The main road that leads in and out of Montrose is U.S. Highway 50. The town is located in cardinal-western Colorado, in the upper Uncompahgre Valley and is an economic, labor, and transportation waypoint for the surrounding recreation industry. Demographically, the town is majority white, with a large Hispanic population. It is also the home of a few major engineering projects, namely the Gunnison Tunnel.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$1,793 median rent · $127,028 median income · #18 cheapest rent in Colorado
Located in
Weld County, Colorado
The Town of Windsor is a Home Rule Municipality in Larimer and Weld counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. According to June 2016 estimates, the population of the town was 24,500. Windsor is located in the region known as Northern Colorado. Windsor is situated 59 miles north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$1,819 median rent · $98,839 median income · #21 cheapest rent in Colorado
Located in
Jefferson County, Colorado
Littleton is the Home Rule Municipality in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties that is the county seat of Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city population was 41,737 at the 2010 United States Census, ranking as the 20th most populous municipality in the State of Colorado.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$1,668 median rent · $86,800 median income · #12 cheapest rent in Colorado
Located in
Arapahoe County, Colorado
The City of Englewood is a Home Rule Municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. As of 2010, the population was 30,255. Englewood is part of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area. Englewood is located in the South Platte River Valley east of the Front Range and immediately south of central Denver. Downtown is located immediately east of the confluence of Little Dry Creek and the South Platte River, between Santa Fe Drive and Broadway.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$2,017 median rent · $104,964 median income · #32 cheapest rent in Colorado
Located in
Routt County, Colorado
The City of Steamboat Springs, often shortened to just Steamboat, is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Routt County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,088.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$1,730 median rent · $84,604 median income · #14 cheapest rent in Colorado
Located in
Larimer County, Colorado
The City of Loveland is the Home Rule Municipality that is the second most populous municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Loveland is situated 46 miles north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. Loveland is the 14th most populous city in Colorado. The United States Census Bureau estimated that in 2014 the population of the city was 72,651. The city forms part of the Fort Collins-Loveland Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. The city’s public schools are part of the Thompson R2-J School District.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$2,166 median rent · $147,319 median income · #39 cheapest rent in Colorado
Located in
Boulder County, Colorado
Louisville Colorado is a Home Rule Municipality in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 18,376 at the 2010 United States Census. Louisville began as a rough mining community in 1877, suffered through a period of extraordinary labor violence early in the 20th century, and then, when the mines closed in the 1950s, made a transition to a suburban residential community. CNN/Money and Money magazine have consistently listed Louisville as one of the 100 best places to live in the United States, ranking it among the top 100 in 2007, 2009 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$1,031 median rent · $43,283 median income · #1 cheapest rent in Colorado
Located in
Logan County, Colorado
Sterling is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Logan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 14,777 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$1,308 median rent · $80,000 median income · #6 cheapest rent in Colorado
Located in
Garfield County, Colorado
The City of Rifle is a Home Rule Municipality in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 9,172 at the 2010 census, up from 6,784 at the 2000 census. Rifle is a regional center of the cattle ranching industry located along Interstate 70 and the Colorado River just east of the Roan Plateau, which dominates the western skyline of the town. The town was founded in 1882 by Abram Maxfield, and was incorporated in 1905 along Rifle Creek, near its mouth on the Colorado. The community takes its name from the creek.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$2,148 median rent · $131,928 median income · #38 cheapest rent in Colorado
Located in
Arapahoe County, Colorado
The City of Centennial is a Home Rule Municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 100,377 at the 2010 United States Census. Centennial is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. Centennial is the tenth most populous municipality in the state of Colorado and its 2001 city incorporation was the largest in U.S. history. Centennial is ranked as the 15th-safest city in the country.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
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
On the map
Where to retire in Colorado
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Places To Retire In the Centennial State for 2026
To create our ranking of the best places in Colorado to retire, we used Saturday Night Science. We analyzed Census data to find all places in the Centennial State — 450 cities and towns.
We then narrowed it down to places with at least 10,000 people that weren’t townships. This left us with 42 places from across the state.
For these 42, we looked at the following criteria taken from the Census, the FBI’s Crime Report, National Weather Service, and OpenFlights:
- Low cost of living as measured by rent
- Low crime
- Things to do (Museums, Colleges, and Libraries in town)
- Nice weather
- Distance to the closest international airport
- Other retirees (High median age)
We then ranked each of these places for each criterion from one to 42, with the lowest number being the best.
Finally, we took the average rank across these criteria. The place, in this case Montrose, with the lowest average rank, was crowned the best of the best, a place for you to start your second career.
The report has been updated for 2026. This list reflects our eleventh time ranking the best places to retire in Colorado.
The full plate
Best Places To Retire In Colorado
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Retire Score | Population | Median Income | Average Home Prices | Median Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montrose | 13.80 | 21,044 | $70,386 | $467,131 | $1,197 |
| 2 | Windsor | 14.40 | 37,914 | $127,028 | $577,243 | $1,793 |
| 3 | Littleton | 16.30 | 44,710 | $98,839 | $634,610 | $1,819 |
| 4 | Englewood | 17.20 | 34,129 | $86,800 | $516,657 | $1,668 |
| 5 | Steamboat Springs | 17.20 | 13,433 | $104,964 | $1,310,883 | $2,017 |
| 6 | Loveland | 17.40 | 78,410 | $84,604 | $500,792 | $1,730 |
| 7 | Louisville | 18.00 | 20,786 | $147,319 | $837,473 | $2,166 |
| 8 | Sterling | 18.00 | 13,172 | $43,283 | $244,759 | $1,031 |
| 9 | Rifle | 18.30 | 10,570 | $80,000 | $497,317 | $1,308 |
| 10 | Centennial | 18.90 | 108,201 | $131,928 | $649,086 | $2,148 |
| 11 | Fruita | 18.90 | 13,691 | $87,184 | $480,864 | $1,472 |
| 12 | Broomfield | 19.10 | 76,304 | $123,874 | $632,201 | $2,126 |
| 13 | Fort Morgan | 19.40 | 11,605 | $64,158 | $328,288 | $1,067 |
| 14 | Wheat Ridge | 19.50 | 32,070 | $90,564 | $606,404 | $1,579 |
| 15 | Castle Rock | 19.60 | 79,123 | $145,197 | $672,107 | $2,000 |
| 16 | Grand Junction | 19.60 | 68,142 | $70,080 | $422,320 | $1,142 |
| 17 | Lafayette | 20.40 | 30,602 | $119,040 | $676,851 | $2,121 |
| 18 | Pueblo | 20.60 | 111,561 | $56,664 | $283,603 | $1,082 |
| 19 | Longmont | 20.60 | 99,406 | $90,671 | $556,720 | $1,816 |
| 20 | Denver | 20.70 | 718,877 | $94,718 | $539,666 | $1,831 |
| 21 | Westminster | 21.70 | 115,484 | $100,272 | $527,654 | $1,882 |
| 22 | Greeley | 21.80 | 110,806 | $69,881 | $420,464 | $1,388 |
| 23 | Lakewood | 22.10 | 156,583 | $89,792 | $573,913 | $1,806 |
| 24 | Erie | 22.30 | 33,808 | $173,349 | $725,091 | $2,805 |
| 25 | Fort Collins | 22.60 | 170,229 | $85,070 | $563,815 | $1,690 |
| 26 | Arvada | 22.60 | 122,634 | $117,348 | $616,566 | $1,888 |
| 27 | Northglenn | 22.60 | 38,014 | $84,030 | $463,886 | $1,775 |
| 28 | Frederick | 22.70 | 16,651 | $129,460 | $544,142 | $2,381 |
| 29 | Brighton | 23.00 | 42,059 | $107,679 | $498,701 | $1,779 |
| 30 | Aurora | 23.10 | 394,432 | $88,368 | $463,081 | $1,835 |
| 31 | Firestone | 23.20 | 18,049 | $120,150 | $570,742 | $2,009 |
| 32 | Thornton | 23.40 | 144,187 | $103,088 | $502,945 | $1,895 |
| 33 | Evans | 24.20 | 22,396 | $75,563 | $394,719 | $1,582 |
| 34 | Parker | 24.80 | 61,783 | $133,369 | $688,178 | $2,096 |
| 35 | Colorado Springs | 25.20 | 487,887 | $84,818 | $449,452 | $1,648 |
| 36 | Boulder | 25.40 | 106,433 | $87,493 | $964,531 | $2,018 |
| 37 | Monument | 25.40 | 11,735 | $128,816 | $755,938 | $1,929 |
| 38 | Golden | 25.80 | 20,417 | $98,582 | $863,815 | $1,953 |
| 39 | Lone Tree | 27.30 | 14,147 | $123,741 | $894,853 | $2,139 |
| 40 | Fountain | 28.40 | 29,300 | $86,242 | $394,609 | $1,745 |
| 41 | Glenwood Springs | 28.60 | 10,241 | $91,481 | $869,621 | $1,867 |
| 42 | Severance | 28.90 | 10,130 | $124,572 | $495,599 | $2,569 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, FBI UCR, OpenFlights. 42 cities with more than 10,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Maybe You’re Not Ready To Retire In Colorado Yet…
So there you have it, the best place to retire in Colorado goes to Montrose.
The best places to retire in Colorado are Montrose, Windsor, Littleton, Englewood, Steamboat Springs, Loveland, Louisville, Sterling, Rifle, and Centennial.
If you’re not ready to hang up your office apparel yet, then these places might be up your alley.
