Colorado cities

The best places to live in Colorado

Colorado's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Castle Rock leads the list.

We scored Colorado's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#	City	Median home	Rent	Value	Overall
2	Centennial	$484,500	$1,810	76	85
13	Arvada	$456,200	$1,568	52	63
29	Aurora	$350,200	$1,481	31	42
32	Colorado Springs	$324,100	$1,300	36	39
35	Denver	$459,100	$1,495	25	38
38	Thornton	$376,900	$1,608	46	37
39	Fort Collins	$431,300	$1,443	24	36
41	Westminster	$388,300	$1,596	41	35
44	Lakewood	$428,800	$1,506	24	27
47	Pueblo	$163,400	$856	47	22

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within Colorado. Updated 2026.