Cortez makes Colorado’s top 10 on 4 lists
Cortez is ranked on 39 lists against the 160 Colorado towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 4 and the top quarter on 6.
The lists Cortez does best on
Each list ranks every CO town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Cortez marked.
1 spot from the top 10 for cheap rent
Lists where Cortez sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Cortez lands in the top half on 10 of 25 lists
Each dot is Cortez’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in CO, the right end is last. Areas where Cortez does best come first.
Drier than 87% of Colorado
Not better or worse, just Cortez’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Where Cortez lands in every CO ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Federal Heights · 1.0 yrs
#16
Cheapest rent#1 La Junta · $642/mo
#11
Lowest property tax#1 Walsenburg · $393/yr
#8
Rent easiest to afford#1 Craig · 33.3%
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Lamar · 9.7 min
#13 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Gunbarrel · 55.3%
#38
Most trails#1 New Castle · 7.2 mi / sq mi
#54
Most walkable#1 Edgewater · 188 / sq mi
#70 Health
Healthiest#1 Superior · 100 / 100
#126
Lowest obesity#1 Superior · 15%
#93
Fewest smokers#1 Lone Tree · 7%
#136
Most active#1 Superior · 9%
#115
Fewest uninsured#1 Genesee · 4%
#102
Lowest depression#1 Sherrelwood · 20%
#112
Closest to a top hospital#1 Trinidad · 0.1 mi
#8 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Vail · 24.3 per resident
#5
Most library borrowing#1 Lafayette · 13.9 per resident
#8
Best libraries for kids#1 Littleton · 29.7 per child
#13 People
Most educated#1 Cherry Hills Village · 83.4%
#120
Youngest#1 Air Force Academy · 21.0
#61
Oldest#1 Lincoln Park · 59.1
#100
Most residents 65+#1 Lincoln Park · 34.7%
#42
S
Most kids#1 Sierra Ridge · 34%
#70 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Breckenridge · 55.9%
#34
Most new homes#1 Timnath · 44.0 per 1,000
#69
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Breckenridge · +76.5%
#35
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Federal Heights · 33.9 per home
#47 
Schools
Best schools#1 Cherry Hills Village · +32.0 pts
#103
Highest graduation rate#1 Lamar · 97%
#112 Safety
Safest#1 Milliken · 4.8
#65 
The number on the right is Cortez’s spot. All of Colorado’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every CO list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.