A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Kit Carson$1,220/mo

Typical home $182K (Zillow) · tax rate est. 1.8% · or rent about $653/mo · Housing →

Wiley$1,120/mo

Typical home $199K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.48% · or rent about $950/mo · Housing →

The difference: $100 a month, about $1,200 a year, between Kit Carson and Wiley.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Colorado ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

–Kit CarsonNot graded A−WileyBetter than 82% of districts in the state

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Kit CarsonWiley

Snow a year16″30″

January low12°F 14°F

July high92°F 93°F

Growing season (days)142d 163d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)56th 63rd

Outdoors & history

Kit CarsonWiley

Trails2 mi —

Conserved land0%—

Settled1838 —

National Register places—1

Archive photos12 2

Famous people born here—1

Community

Kit CarsonWiley

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

42 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Kit CarsonCO WileyCO

Kit Carson ↔ Wiley42 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Colorado average

Kit CarsonWiley

People

Population 273Lowest 422Highest

Median age 34.9±11.3Lowest 7% below CO 38.3±10.3Highest about the CO average

Wiley and Kit Carson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 26%±11.1Lowest CO: 21% 28.4%±7.6Highest CO: 21%

Wiley and Kit Carson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 13.9%±9.2Highest CO: 15.6% 13.5%±4.7Lowest CO: 15.6%

Kit Carson and Wiley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 30.1%Lowest CO: 45.7% 31.9%Highest CO: 45.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 1.8%±2Lowest CO: 6.4% 4.5%±3Highest CO: 6.4%

Wiley and Kit Carson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $59,875±$24kLowest 37% below CO $60,114±$8kHighest 37% below CO

Wiley and Kit Carson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $150,000±$114kHighest 72% below CO $140,300±$18kLowest 74% below CO

Kit Carson and Wiley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $653±$140Lowest 63% below CO $950±$320Highest 46% below CO

Wiley and Kit Carson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly — $668 74% below CO

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 25.8%±49.2Highest CO: 52.9% 20.5%±12.1Lowest CO: 52.9%

Kit Carson and Wiley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 3%Lowest CO: 9.4% 5.7%Highest CO: 9.4%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 71.3%Lowest CO: 66.2% 71.4%Highest CO: 66.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1977Highest 11 yrs older than CO 1971Lowest 17 yrs older than CO

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 18 minHighest 27% below CO 17 minLowest 32% below CO

Work from home 5.2%±4.6Lowest CO: 21% 6.6%±3.4Highest CO: 21%

Wiley and Kit Carson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 4.4%Lowest 7.5%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 28.3 miHighest 8.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.71Lowest 1.11Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Cheyenne Wells (24%)Lamar (38%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WileyFew work in Kit Carson

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 1.7 miHighest 0.6 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 2.8 miHighest 2.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 99.6Lowest 127Highest

Schools

School district Kit Carson School District No. R-1Wiley School District No. Re-13 Jt

High school in town Kit Carson Junior-Senior High SchoolWiley Junior-Senior High School

Students per teacherat that high school 8.1Lowest 11.1Highest

Colorado average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Kit Carson neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Kit Carson’s Town Square.

Wiley neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wiley’s Town Square.

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Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Kit Carson vs Wiley

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

42 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Kit Carson and Wiley

Towns like Kit Carson

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