You’ve seen these lists before. Best places to live in Colorado. Best suburbs in Colorado. Best counties in Colorado.
Etc., etc., etc.
But they all focus on major cities and towns in the Centennial State, and no one pays attention to the little guy.
Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the superb small towns in Colorado based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.
We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section, but first, we thought you might want to know which places in Colorado ranked the best based on Saturday Night Science.
$250,001 median income · 0.3% unemployment
$102,405 median income · 1.4% unemployment
$122,391 median income · 0.0% unemployment
$241,583 median income · 3.4% unemployment
$250,001 median income · 6.4% unemployment
$146,492 median income · 4.1% unemployment
$186,667 median income · 2.2% unemployment
$138,191 median income · 0.5% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$142,361 median income · 1.0% unemployment
$74,479 median income · 13.3% 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 small towns are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Coolest Towns In Colorado
We threw a lot of criteria at this report to get the best, most complete results of the best small towns in Colorado possible.
Using the most recent data from the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Saturday Night Science, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (Higher is better)
- Lowest Unemployment Rates
- Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
- Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
- Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
- Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
- Commute Times (Lower is better)
We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which there were many – 98 to be exact.
We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 98, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in Colorado. Top of that list — Columbine Valley.
This is our eleventh time ranking the best small places to live in Colorado.
The full plate
Best Small Towns In Colorado
Click any column to sort. Search by town name.
| Rank | Town | Population | Median Income | Median Home Value | Unemployment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbine Valley | 2,047 | $250,001 | $1,678,181 | 0.3% |
| 2 | Telluride | 2,160 | $102,405 | $2,234,834 | 1.4% |
| 3 | Holly Hills | 2,572 | $122,391 | $705,179 | 0.0% |
| 4 | Bow Mar | 1,047 | $241,583 | $2,296,096 | 3.4% |
| 5 | Castle Pines Village | 4,436 | $250,001 | $1,459,981 | 6.4% |
| 6 | Niwot | 3,447 | $146,492 | $1,121,990 | 4.1% |
| 7 | Genesee | 3,778 | $186,667 | $1,100,010 | 2.2% |
| 8 | Breckenridge | 4,959 | $138,191 | $1,198,068 | 0.5% |
| 9 | Acres Green | 2,639 | $142,361 | $575,738 | 1.0% |
| 10 | Crested Butte | 1,229 | $74,479 | $1,447,101 | 13.3% |
| 11 | Snowmass Village | 2,972 | $102,959 | $2,481,432 | 0.0% |
| 12 | Lyons | 1,838 | $122,837 | $756,757 | 4.3% |
| 13 | Nederland | 1,655 | $122,917 | $673,006 | 3.4% |
| 14 | Vail | 4,613 | $98,893 | $1,769,335 | 7.4% |
| 15 | Frisco | 2,825 | $113,506 | $994,330 | 2.4% |
| 16 | Basalt | 4,335 | $105,855 | $1,417,793 | 3.4% |
| 17 | Perry Park | 1,570 | $158,214 | $854,251 | 2.5% |
| 18 | Inverness | 2,934 | $109,135 | $866,205 | 5.4% |
| 19 | Elizabeth | 2,244 | $112,986 | $667,370 | 2.4% |
| 20 | Blue River | 1,410 | $134,250 | $1,273,038 | 4.1% |
| 21 | Palmer Lake | 2,623 | $125,357 | $535,171 | 5.5% |
| 22 | Leadville North | 1,417 | $97,604 | $538,628 | 2.9% |
| 23 | El Jebel | 2,941 | $103,042 | $916,330 | 0.0% |
| 24 | Fairplay | 1,067 | $107,976 | $598,802 | 1.1% |
| 25 | Leadville | 2,620 | $86,350 | $504,084 | 3.1% |
| 26 | Bayfield | 2,901 | $93,125 | $506,837 | 6.5% |
| 27 | Hot Sulphur Springs | 1,108 | $106,600 | $517,863 | 3.7% |
| 28 | Granby | 2,270 | $72,926 | $781,019 | 2.4% |
| 29 | Loma | 1,350 | $141,023 | $648,988 | 0.0% |
| 30 | Idaho Springs | 1,986 | $89,436 | $488,573 | 3.5% |
| 31 | Silverthorne | 4,815 | $125,478 | $855,203 | 8.6% |
| 32 | Dove Valley | 4,806 | $81,524 | $457,663 | 2.6% |
| 33 | Coal Creek | 2,346 | $134,250 | $614,920 | 2.4% |
| 34 | Silt | 3,642 | $93,690 | $614,870 | 0.5% |
| 35 | Laporte | 1,771 | $87,313 | $553,350 | 2.1% |
| 36 | Manitou Springs | 4,735 | $85,000 | $544,349 | 11.8% |
| 37 | Mancos | 1,174 | $65,833 | $518,864 | 2.4% |
| 38 | Buena Vista | 3,010 | $78,323 | $662,440 | 12.4% |
| 39 | Glendale | 4,531 | $71,250 | $327,809 | 1.7% |
| 40 | La Salle | 3,061 | $95,833 | $438,352 | 1.5% |
| 41 | Ponderosa Park | 3,453 | $132,154 | $707,188 | 6.7% |
| 42 | New Castle | 4,880 | $80,084 | $647,065 | 0.8% |
| 43 | Limon | 1,678 | $65,776 | $280,115 | 1.7% |
| 44 | Springfield | 1,384 | $48,295 | $134,707 | 0.8% |
| 45 | Meeker | 2,580 | $66,548 | $398,405 | 0.2% |
| 46 | Ault | 2,425 | $95,049 | $437,167 | 4.7% |
| 47 | Aetna Estates | 1,010 | $74,853 | $51,030 | 0.5% |
| 48 | Ridgway | 1,237 | $83,750 | $855,234 | 8.5% |
| 49 | Keystone | 1,216 | $51,591 | $1,290,517 | 1.7% |
| 50 | Akron | 1,722 | $57,321 | $252,452 | 1.9% |
| 51 | Edgewater | 4,932 | $76,591 | $590,329 | 6.5% |
| 52 | Palisade | 2,584 | $80,587 | $559,776 | 5.4% |
| 53 | Alamosa East | 1,298 | $76,683 | $265,597 | 0.7% |
| 54 | Burlington | 3,152 | $74,308 | $248,845 | 2.8% |
| 55 | Bennett | 3,663 | $107,736 | $435,056 | 1.8% |
| 56 | Mountain Village | 2,185 | $52,923 | $2,074,483 | 4.3% |
| 57 | Paonia | 1,661 | $59,574 | $461,452 | 5.8% |
| 58 | Fraser | 1,405 | $89,980 | $790,520 | 4.8% |
| 59 | Hayden | 2,057 | $90,804 | $522,956 | 3.9% |
| 60 | Colorado City | 1,615 | $44,868 | $326,404 | 0.0% |
| 61 | Keenesburg | 2,347 | $83,950 | $515,349 | 2.1% |
| 62 | Ignacio | 1,250 | $67,593 | $466,289 | 5.8% |
| 63 | Del Norte | 1,653 | $40,700 | $303,000 | 6.8% |
| 64 | Pagosa Springs | 2,090 | $50,785 | $560,344 | 0.0% |
| 65 | Georg | 1,053 | $79,118 | $524,062 | 10.5% |
| 66 | Wray | 2,114 | $57,171 | $279,578 | 0.5% |
| 67 | Penrose | 4,087 | $88,109 | $391,625 | 7.1% |
| 68 | Cascade-Chipita Park | 1,412 | $119,531 | $517,231 | 15.2% |
| 69 | Rangely | 2,466 | $66,389 | $225,973 | 6.0% |
| 70 | Wiggins | 1,564 | $91,681 | $426,842 | 1.7% |
| 71 | Holyoke | 2,382 | $52,482 | $260,505 | 3.9% |
| 72 | Hotchkiss | 1,224 | $54,545 | $466,537 | 4.7% |
| 73 | Byers | 1,726 | $93,571 | $569,617 | 13.6% |
| 74 | Kremmling | 1,807 | $77,407 | $537,811 | 6.7% |
| 75 | Lincoln Park | 3,986 | $60,036 | $297,139 | 8.6% |
| 76 | Dotsero | 1,306 | $84,439 | $483,680 | 5.9% |
| 77 | Kersey | 1,064 | $68,281 | $504,501 | 4.8% |
| 78 | Julesburg | 1,181 | $43,500 | $165,047 | 3.7% |
| 79 | Florence | 3,885 | $50,262 | $278,110 | 2.2% |
| 80 | Ordway | 1,528 | $54,583 | $154,865 | 3.5% |
| 81 | Walsenburg | 3,072 | $51,474 | $194,214 | 11.5% |
| 82 | Monte Vista | 4,141 | $61,684 | $269,190 | 20.7% |
| 83 | Strasburg | 3,455 | $117,845 | $536,973 | 9.1% |
| 84 | Pierce | 1,201 | $61,250 | $468,560 | 15.6% |
| 85 | Deer Trail | 1,275 | $73,906 | $386,034 | 0.6% |
| 86 | Rocky Ford | 3,815 | $40,655 | $151,201 | 11.5% |
| 87 | Orchard City | 3,221 | $55,960 | $378,787 | 4.7% |
| 88 | Hudson | 2,006 | $81,250 | $699,136 | 4.1% |
| 89 | Center | 2,120 | $45,750 | $170,349 | 18.1% |
| 90 | Olathe | 1,793 | $55,767 | $458,933 | 6.0% |
| 91 | Cedaredge | 2,398 | $47,614 | $427,742 | 9.3% |
| 92 | Platteville | 2,928 | $74,500 | $519,062 | 16.3% |
| 93 | Las Animas | 2,540 | $51,875 | $107,983 | 9.2% |
| 94 | Yuma | 3,459 | $48,338 | $271,030 | 8.9% |
| 95 | Sanford | 1,142 | $42,143 | $194,199 | 11.2% |
| 96 | Towaoc | 1,078 | $22,955 | $427,828 | 13.1% |
| 97 | Aristocrat Ranchettes | 1,747 | $83,689 | $419,190 | 11.9% |
| 98 | Parachute | 1,422 | $58,778 | $422,181 | 18.7% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 98 Colorado towns between 1,000 and 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones
We said it once, and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, crunched the numbers, and it turns out these small towns in Colorado are the best in which to live.
And who can argue with that?
The best small towns in Colorado are Columbine Valley, Telluride, Holly Hills, Bow Mar, Castle Pines Village, Niwot, Genesee, Breckenridge, Acres Green, and Crested Butte.
