The 10 Best Counties To Live In Colorado For 2024


The best counties in Colorado are Pitkin County and Douglas County for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

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.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary


Pitkin County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Colorado. And you should avoid Jackson County if you can — at least according to the data.

Now you know exactly where to move in Colorado. Keep on reading for more about the top ten and a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Colorado and the cheapest places to live in Colorado.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The Best Counties To Live In Colorado For 2024

1. Pitkin County

Aspen, CO

Source: Wikipedia User Daniel Case | GFDL

Biggest Place: Aspen
Population: 17,325
Median Income: $96,123 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $2,168,275 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.1% (5th best)
More on Pitkin CountyData

2. Douglas County

Aurora, CO

Source: Wikipedia User Jeffrey Beall | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Aurora
Population: 360,206
Median Income: $139,010 (best)
Median Home Price: $702,099 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.4% (20th best)
More on Douglas CountyData

3. Elbert County

Elbert, CO

Source: Flickr User eioua | CC BY 2.0

Biggest Place: Ponderosa Park
Population: 26,457
Median Income: $124,360 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $673,506 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.3% (8th best)
More on Elbert CountyData

4. Broomfield County

Broomfield, CO

Source: Wikipedia User Dmannsuperdude | CC BY-SA 4.0

Biggest Place: Broomfield
Population: 73,946
Median Income: $117,541 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $634,234 (15th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.2% (17th best)
More on Broomfield CountyData

5. Routt County

Steamboat Springs, CO

Source: Wikipedia User katkimchee | CC BY 2.0

Biggest Place: Steamboat Springs
Population: 24,944
Median Income: $95,144 (10th best)
Median Home Price: $1,036,143 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.9% (12th best)
More on Routt CountyData

6. Jefferson County

Arvada, CO

Source: Wikipedia User Mvanderkolk | CC BY-SA 4.0

Biggest Place: Lakewood
Population: 580,519
Median Income: $103,167 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $608,234 (16th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.9% (28th best)
More on Jefferson CountyData

7. Boulder County

Boulder, CO

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Boulder
Population: 328,658
Median Income: $99,770 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $725,101 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.4% (35th best)
More on Boulder CountyData

8. Gunnison County

Gunnison, CO

Source: Wikipedia User Orschstaffer | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Gunnison
Population: 17,018
Median Income: $76,538 (24th best)
Median Home Price: $698,282 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.6% (22nd best)
More on Gunnison CountyData

9. Teller County

Woodland Park, CO

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Woodland Park
Population: 24,758
Median Income: $69,655 (28th best)
Median Home Price: $480,254 (27th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.8% (26th best)
More on Teller CountyData

10. San Miguel County

Mountain Village, CO

Source: Flickr User Ken Lund | CC BY-SA 2.0

Biggest Place: Telluride
Population: 8,082
Median Income: $72,829 (25th best)
Median Home Price: $1,464,077 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.7% (25th best)
More on San Miguel CountyData

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 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best counties to live in Colorado.

Read on to see why Pitkin County is the best county, while Jackson County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Colorado.

Summary: The Best Counties In Colorado To Call Home For 2024

Living in Colorado can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

The best counties in Colorado are Pitkin County, Douglas County, Elbert County, Broomfield County, Routt County, Jefferson County, Boulder County, Gunnison County, Teller County, and San Miguel 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.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Colorado according to the data:

  1. Jackson County
  2. Conejos County
  3. Crowley County

For more Colorado reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Colorado

Rank County Population Median Income Median Home Price
1 Pitkin County 17,325 $96,123 $2,168,275
2 Douglas County 360,206 $139,010 $702,099
3 Elbert County 26,457 $124,360 $673,506
4 Broomfield County 73,946 $117,541 $634,234
5 Routt County 24,944 $95,144 $1,036,143
6 Jefferson County 580,519 $103,167 $608,234
7 Boulder County 328,658 $99,770 $725,101
8 Gunnison County 17,018 $76,538 $698,282
9 Teller County 24,758 $69,655 $480,254
10 San Miguel County 8,082 $72,829 $1,464,077
11 Summit County 30,955 $100,611 $958,210
12 Gilpin County 5,856 $95,902 $529,766
13 Park County 17,597 $85,019 $537,836
14 Clear Creek County 9,403 $87,169 $566,351
15 Larimer County 359,363 $87,199 $537,197
16 Ouray County 4,936 $78,750 $803,655
17 Eagle County 55,650 $98,887 $1,241,530
18 La Plata County 55,983 $81,936 $636,920
19 Arapahoe County 654,453 $92,292 $524,759
20 Hinsdale County 911 $58,712 $425,602
21 El Paso County 730,323 $82,748 $445,569
22 Lake County 7,403 $78,942 $469,811
23 Grand County 15,724 $79,367 $752,675
24 Cheyenne County 1,726 $65,577 $182,828
25 Garfield County 61,683 $82,772 $638,767
26 Archuleta County 13,509 $66,813 $543,735
27 Custer County 4,885 $66,250 $380,840
28 Washington County 4,817 $59,087 $235,786
29 Denver County 710,800 $85,853 $560,073
30 Weld County 331,466 $89,182 $484,531
31 Chaffee County 19,564 $65,703 $642,669
32 Dolores County 2,329 $64,708 $246,600
33 Logan County 21,302 $54,864 $245,985
34 Adams County 520,149 $86,297 $485,669
35 Mesa County 156,131 $68,077 $387,749
36 Phillips County 4,493 $58,474 $244,606
37 Mineral County 794 $58,929 $398,735
38 Lincoln County 5,583 $59,167 $233,258
39 Alamosa County 16,460 $52,271 $290,044
40 Pueblo County 168,135 $59,436 $286,925
41 Montezuma County 26,070 $61,377 $357,643
42 Rio Blanco County 6,511 $69,882 $285,667
43 Fremont County 49,107 $56,165 $327,316
44 Kiowa County 1,347 $45,250 $137,364
45 Kit Carson County 7,039 $58,992 $229,434
46 Montrose County 42,823 $62,817 $411,022
47 Sedgwick County 2,391 $45,855 $149,823
48 Morgan County 29,045 $70,471 $322,562
49 San Juan County 690 $67,344 $485,226
50 Moffat County 13,232 $63,983 $282,815
51 Huerfano County 6,896 $49,631 $261,015
52 Delta County 31,173 $56,349 $375,900
53 Baca County 3,496 $42,115 $136,581
54 Rio Grande County 11,442 $57,591 $283,966
55 Otero County 18,580 $47,500 $151,142
56 Yuma County 9,938 $60,118 $252,294
57 Las Animas County 14,422 $48,965 $249,004
58 Prowers County 11,968 $49,422 $159,794
59 Saguache County 6,454 $51,946 $250,818
60 Bent County 5,561 $45,776 $103,390
61 Costilla County 3,534 $34,578 $185,030
62 Crowley County 5,782 $40,685 $142,369
63 Conejos County 7,553 $44,093 $205,938
64 Jackson County 1,440 $38,686 $259,355
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.