Castle Rock, Colorado
Area Profile
79,123 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Castle Rock, in Douglas County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 16 sourcesUnemployment is 3.7% and median household income $145,197, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.
In the public schools here, 39% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.5 students for every teacher.
Residential permitting has slowed: 194 units authorized over the past twelve months, 40% below the prior year.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.7%, lower than in 74% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment fell 1.9% over the past year, to 45,130 employed residents.
56% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 92% of measured US cities.
Median household income of $145,197 is higher than in 95% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsDouglas County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $111,960 | 89th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftDouglas County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $108,444 | 87th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$7,9242024 ACS 5-Year | $145,197 | Top 5%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,8322024 ACS 5-Year | $62,170 | Top 9%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.5% | Top 17%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 30.6 min | Bottom 31%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 55.9% | Top 8%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 62.9% | 16th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 45,130 | Bottom 45%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −0.9% | Bottom 41%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −1.9% | Bottom 23%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 46,864 | 45th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 85.6% | Top 22%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageDenver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $81,690 | Top 18%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageDenver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $62,320 | Top 11%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.1% | 74th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | +0.2% | Bottom 31%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 3.7% | Top 26%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 28.8% | 94th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 42,810 | $37,070 |
| Retail Salespersons | 40,340 | $38,470 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 32,610 | $44,480 |
| Registered Nurses | 30,380 | $101,130 |
| Business Operations Specialists, All Other | 28,670 | $94,990 |
| Software Developers | 27,010 | $137,610 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
39% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 56% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 17.5 students for every full-time teacher across 19 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle View High School | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 1,938 | 24.2 | 45% | 74% |
| Douglas County High School | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 1,659 | 19.5 | 51% | 73% |
| Aspen View Academy · charter | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 1,018 | 18.2 | 40% | 57% |
| Mesa Middle School | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 852 | 15.5 | 41% | 57% |
| World Compass Academy · charter | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 791 | 16.8 | 36% | 45% |
| Castle Rock Middle School | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 660 | 15.3 | 33% | 41% |
| Clear Sky Elementary | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 627 | 16.5 | 35% | 58% |
| Academy Charter School · charter | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 581 | 16.1 | 53% | 68% |
| Sage Canyon Elementary | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 552 | 16.7 | 33% | 46% |
| Meadow View Elementary School | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 508 | 18.1 | 41% | 55% |
| Flagstone Elementary School | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 496 | 17.1 | 41% | 47% |
| Rock Ridge Elementary School | Douglas County School District No. Re 1 | 449 | 15.5 | 31% | 34% |
20.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Colorado’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 6% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 105.8, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area is up 21% over five years, but down 0.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,635 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.56% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,089, close to the $2,000 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,089 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $83,600 a year, about 58% of the median household income here of $145,197.
The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,000 a month.
A median home at $652,900 costs 4.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $162,604, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run about 6% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Castle Rock’s median household income of $145,197, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2023 | 105.8 | Bottom 33%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | −0.5% | 4th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +21.4% | 7th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +79.9% | 27th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 4.0 | Bottom 17%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 78.8% | 56th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±6112024 ACS 5-Year | 29,159 | 98th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,754 | Bottom 31%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $2,734 | Bottom 28%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $2,089 | Bottom 29%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$1072024 ACS 5-Year | $2,000 | Bottom 8%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$8,9942024 ACS 5-Year | $652,900 | 93rd percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1072024 ACS 5-Year | $3,635 | 80th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$6,7842024 ACS 5-Year | $162,604 | Top 5%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.56% | 16th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 35.6% | Bottom 19%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±142024 ACS 5-Year | 9 | 63rd percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 51st percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.2% | 28th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3062024 ACS 5-Year | 940 | 94th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has grown 13% since 2020, reaching 83,213 in 2024.
Permit activity fell in each of the 4 calendar years through 2025.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 194 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
Federal tax returns show Douglas County, which contains Castle Rock, gained about 1.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $111,960, close to the $108,444 of households that moved out.
At 2.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Arapahoe County, CO 6,819 people · 23% of arrivals
- Denver County, CO 3,524 people · 12% of arrivals
- Jefferson County, CO 2,506 people · 8.3% of arrivals
- El Paso County, CO 1,213 people · 4.0% of arrivals
- Adams County, CO 897 people · 3.0% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Arapahoe County, CO 4,313 people · 17% of departures
- Denver County, CO 2,061 people · 8.3% of departures
- Jefferson County, CO 1,493 people · 6.0% of departures
- El Paso County, CO 1,205 people · 4.9% of departures
- Elbert County, CO 850 people · 3.4% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Douglas County, CO. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 19°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 15.0 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 48, in the Good band, and about 25 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 93 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 15.0" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 19°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 87°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 25 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 48 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 42°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 38% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Low or minimal exposure: lightning, strong wind, inland flooding, volcanic activity, cold wave, earthquake, heat wave, ice storm, drought, coastal flooding, tsunami, hurricane.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Castle Rock's police department reported 30 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 943.
Douglas County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.7 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 10.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 10.9 per 100,000 residents in Douglas County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Castle Rock’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Castle Rock (Douglas County) rather than Castle Rock itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
9 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Centennial at 13 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year | 97.7% | Top 14%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 13 mi | Top 38%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 9 | Top 5%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.4% | Top 16%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centennial | APA | 13 mi | 10,001 ft |
| Colorado Air and Space Port | CFO | 33 mi | 8,002 ft |
| Denver Intl | DEN | 35 mi | 16,000 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
Customize your score
What matters to you?
Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.
Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.
Other cities in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | Denver County | 718,877 | 56 | Denver vs Castle Rock |
| Aurora | Arapahoe County | 394,432 | 52 | Aurora vs Castle Rock |
| Lakewood | Jefferson County | 156,583 | 46 | Lakewood vs Castle Rock |
| Thornton | Adams County | 144,187 | 54 | |
| Arvada | Jefferson County | 122,634 | 53 | |
| Westminster | Adams County | 115,484 | 57 | |
| Centennial | Arapahoe County | 108,201 | 62 | |
| Highlands Ranch | Douglas County | 102,257 | 65 | |
| Broomfield | Broomfield County | 76,304 | 66 | |
| Commerce City | Adams County | 66,445 | 58 | |
| Parker | Douglas County | 61,783 | 65 | |
| Littleton | Arapahoe County | 44,710 | 60 |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Castle Rock side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Castle Rock from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
ZIP codes in Castle Rock
2 ZIP areasEvery ZIP area in Castle Rock with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Castle Rock closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80104 | 38,479 | $134,335 | $624,200 | — |
| 80109 | 28,400 | $155,025 | $675,500 | — |