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%

Wiley$1,120/mo

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

Kit Carson$1,220/mo

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

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

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

WileyKit Carson

Snow a year30″16″

January low14°F 12°F

July high93°F 92°F

Growing season (days)163d 142d

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

Outdoors & history

WileyKit Carson

Trails—2 mi

Conserved land—0%

Settled—1838

National Register places1 —

Archive photos2 12

Famous people born here1 —

Community

WileyKit Carson

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.

WileyCO Kit CarsonCO

Wiley ↔ Kit Carson42 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

WileyKit Carson

People

Population 422Highest 273Lowest

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

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

Kids under 18 28.4%±7.6Highest CO: 21% 26%±11.1Lowest 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+ 13.5%±4.7Lowest CO: 15.6% 13.9%±9.2Highest 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+ 31.9%Highest CO: 45.7% 30.1%Lowest CO: 45.7%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.5%±3Highest CO: 6.4% 1.8%±2Lowest 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 $60,114±$8kHighest 37% below CO $59,875±$24kLowest 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 $140,300±$18kLowest 74% below CO $150,000±$114kHighest 72% 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 $950±$320Highest 46% below CO $653±$140Lowest 63% 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 20.5%±12.1Lowest CO: 52.9% 25.8%±49.2Highest 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 5.7%Highest CO: 9.4% 3%Lowest CO: 9.4%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 6.6%±3.4Highest CO: 21% 5.2%±4.6Lowest 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 7.5%Highest 4.4%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 8.3 miLowest 28.3 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Kit CarsonFew work in Wiley

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.6 miLowest 1.7 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 2.0 miLowest 2.8 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

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

Schools

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

High school in town Wiley Junior-Senior High SchoolKit Carson Junior-Senior High School

Students per teacherat that high school 11.1Highest 8.1Lowest

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.

Wiley neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wiley’s Town Square.

Kit Carson neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Kit Carson’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Wiley

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La Jara522 people · $142K homes

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Fleming614 people · $170K 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.

Wiley vs Kit Carson

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 Wiley and Kit Carson

Towns like Wiley

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