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%

Mead$3,220/mo

Typical home $552K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.71% · or rent about $1,275/mo · Housing →

Firestone$3,260/mo

Typical home $570K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.58% · or rent about $2,009/mo · Housing →

Within $50 a month of each other.

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

Mead places higher on 13 of 22 CO lists

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.

Safety

BMeadSafer than 58% of U.S. towns BFirestoneSafer than 60% of U.S. towns

Schools

A−MeadBetter than 77% of districts in the state A−FirestoneBetter than 77% of districts in the state

Health

AMeadHealthier than 90% of U.S. towns A−FirestoneHealthier than 83% of U.S. towns

13Mead

8Firestone

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most trailsOutdoors · 143 towns #141#43 Most conserved landOutdoors · 152 towns #145#72 Cheapest rentCost of living · 153 towns #33#106 Lowest depressionHealth · 160 towns #37#76 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 160 towns #47#84 Lowest property taxCost of living · 158 towns #133#105 Most walkableOutdoors · 160 towns #147#119 Most educatedPeople · 160 towns #66#93

Left end = #1 in Colorado. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Mead’s rankings →

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

MeadFirestone

Snow a year47″47″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)26th 36th

Outdoors & history

MeadFirestone

Trails3 mi 32 mi

Conserved land0.7%7.8%

Settled1906 —

National Register places1 —

Archive photos5 3

Famous people born here2 —

Community

MeadFirestone

Library hours a week—62 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.

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

MeadFirestone

People

Population 5,919Lowest 18,049Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +40.4%Lowest CO: +14.8% +61.4%Highest CO: +14.8%

Median age 36.8±4Highest about the CO average 35.9±1.8Lowest 5% below CO

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

Kids under 18 30.8%±6.6Highest CO: 21% 24.3%±3.1Lowest CO: 21%

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

Age 65+ 9.9%±3.8Lowest CO: 15.6% 11%±2.2Highest CO: 15.6%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 50.3%Highest CO: 45.7% 37.8%Lowest CO: 45.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6%±3.4Highest CO: 6.4% 4.6%±1.2Lowest CO: 6.4%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $125,357±$18kHighest 31% above CO $120,150±$10kLowest 26% above CO

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $585,100±$38kHighest 8% above CO $560,100±$21kLowest 4% above CO

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,275±$1kLowest 28% below CO $2,009±$178Highest 14% above CO

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $4,134Highest 59% above CO $3,274Lowest 26% above CO

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 34.4%±31.4Lowest CO: 52.9% 43%±11.1Highest CO: 52.9%

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

Below poverty line 1.4%Lowest CO: 9.4% 4.6%Highest CO: 9.4%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 93.7%Highest CO: 66.2% 81.3%Lowest CO: 66.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 2006Lowest 18 yrs newer than CO 2009Highest 21 yrs newer than CO

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 31 minLowest 21% above CO 33 minHighest 29% above CO

Work from home 18.2%±6.9Highest CO: 21% 18.1%±3.6Lowest CO: 21%

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

Work in townworking residents 3.8%Lowest 4.2%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 19.8 miHighest 19.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.67Highest 0.38Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Longmont (19%)Longmont (13%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in FirestoneFew work in Mead

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.7%Lowest 7.8%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 3.4 miLowest 32.4 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 2.2 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 7Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 21.8Lowest 47.9Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #45 of 142 in CO #61 of 142 in CO

School district St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1JSt. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J

High school in town Mead High SchoolNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 21.1 —

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.

Mead neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mead’s Town Square.

Firestone neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Firestone’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Mead

+ Compare

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Silverthorne4,815 people · $701K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Colorado towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Mead vs Firestone

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Mead and Firestone share a border

A typical home costs about the same each month

Mead places higher on 13 of 22 CO lists

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Mead and Firestone

Towns like Mead

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