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%

Lyons$4,360/mo

Typical home $756K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.62% · or rent about $1,981/mo · Housing →

Stepping Stone$4,610/mo

Typical home $786K (Census) · tax rate 0.74% · Housing →

The difference: $250 a month, about $3,000 a year, between Stepping Stone and Lyons.

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

A−LyonsBetter than 77% of districts in the state –Stepping StoneNot graded

Health

A+LyonsHealthier than 98% of U.S. towns A+Stepping StoneHealthier than 99% of U.S. towns

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

LyonsStepping Stone

Snow a year47″64″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)95th 44th

Outdoors & history

LyonsStepping Stone

Trails7 mi 2 mi

Conserved land15.7%8.6%

Settled1880 —

National Register places5 —

Community

LyonsStepping Stone

Library hours a week47 hrs —

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

54 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

LyonsCO Stepping StoneCO

Lyons ↔ Stepping Stone54 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

LyonsStepping Stone

People

Population 1,838Lowest 3,137Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +8.7% CO: +14.8% —

Median age 46.4±4.2Highest 23% above CO 35.7±3Lowest 5% below CO

Kids under 18 29.2%±5.4Lowest CO: 21% 30.7%±4.8Highest CO: 21%

Stepping Stone and Lyons are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 15.6%±4.3Highest CO: 15.6% 3.7%±2.7Lowest CO: 15.6%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 75.3%Lowest CO: 45.7% 82.1%Highest CO: 45.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 1.8%±2Lowest CO: 6.4% 3.5%±2.7Highest CO: 6.4%

Stepping Stone and Lyons are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $122,837±$38kLowest 29% above CO $223,839±$47kHighest 134% above CO

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $845,400±$62kHighest 57% above CO $785,700±$55kLowest 46% above CO

Lyons and Stepping Stone are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,981±$388 12% above CO —

Property taxmedian, yearly $5,283Lowest 103% above CO $5,828Highest 124% above CO

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 52.9%±33.9 CO: 52.9% —

Below poverty line 11.9%Highest CO: 9.4% 0%Lowest CO: 9.4%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 85.5%Lowest CO: 66.2% 98.8%Highest CO: 66.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 2000Lowest 12 yrs newer than CO 2016Highest 28 yrs newer than CO

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 22 minLowest 12% below CO 26 minHighest 4% above CO

Work from home 45.7%±15.6Lowest CO: 21% 46.3%±11.2Highest CO: 21%

Stepping Stone and Lyons are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 7.6%Highest 0.5%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 14.8 miHighest 11.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.68Highest 0.09Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Boulder (24%)Denver (26%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Stepping StoneFew work in Lyons

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 15.7%Highest 8.6%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 6.6 miHighest 2.2 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 4.7 miHighest 2.8 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Lowest 5Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 71.9Lowest 114Highest

Schools

School district St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J—

High school in town Lyons Middle/Senior High School—

Students per teacherat that high school 14.4 —

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.

Lyons neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Lyons’s Town Square.

Stepping Stone neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Stepping Stone’s Town Square.

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Crested Butte1,229 people · $1.01M homes

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.

Lyons vs Stepping Stone

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $250 more a month in Stepping Stone

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

54 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

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Towns like Lyons

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