Golden, CO: Local News, Events & Neighbors

Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States census. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Founded during the Pike's Peak gold rush on June 16, 1859, the mining camp was originally named Golden City in honor of Thomas L. Golden. Golden City served as the capital of the provisional Territory of Jefferson from 1860 to 1861, and capital of the official Territory of Colorado from 1862 to 1867. In 1867, the territorial capital was moved about 12 miles (19 km) east to Denver City. Golden is now a part of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metrop…

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From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

How Golden ranks

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#18Most remote workers in CO #19Best schools in CO #42Most educated in CO All CO rankings →

Town numbers

ZIP code80401, 80402, 80403

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Living in Golden

Housing in Golden

$857K≈ same as a year ago Typical home value · Zillow

The typical Golden home is worth about $857,000, about the same as a year ago, 61% above the Colorado typical home.

A seller's market

Buyer’sBalancedSeller’s

Days on market4

Sale-to-list100.9%

Sold in May25

Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →

Safety in Golden

C

Safety Grade C

Golden reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 69% report less.

Violent crime per 1,000

Golden 1.3

Colorado 4.4

U.S. 3.3

Property crime per 1,000

Golden 21.6

Colorado 22.3

U.S. 15.5

FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeCrime & safety →

Schools in Golden

All Golden schools →

A⁻

School Grade A-

The public schools Golden’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 78% of Colorado’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.

#19Best public schoolsof 142 in CO

DistrictJefferson County School District No. R-1Schools7

Mitchell Elementary School AElementary · Grades K–5 · 478 students Shelton Elementary School A-Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 394 students Bell Middle School BMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 774 students Connections Learning Center on the Earle Johnson CampusMiddle · Grades 6–9 · 22 students Golden High School AHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,469 students Lookout MountainHigh · Grades 5–12

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within CO. Ratings are from neighbors.

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