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.

59out of 100
Area Score
Top 48% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 31% of 4,199 cities measured66
SchoolsTop 43% of 4,162 cities measured55
Growth2,679th of 4,224 cities measured44
Housing affordability3,309th of 4,218 cities measured51
Climate3,210th of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilience2,258th of 4,226 cities measured54
AccessTop 23% of 4,226 cities measured98
Economic stabilityTop 6% of 4,226 cities measured79
The quick read

Unemployment 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

Population
79,123
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$145,197
Top 5% nationally
Density
2,277/sq mi
34.7 sq mi of land
Median age
36.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Colorado
Nearest major airport
APA
13 mi · Centennial
Median home value
$652,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

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.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsDouglas County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$111,96089th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftDouglas County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$108,44487th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,9242024 ACS 5-Year$145,197Top 5%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,8322024 ACS 5-Year$62,170Top 9%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%Top 17%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year30.6 minBottom 31%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year55.9%Top 8%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year62.9%16th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202645,130Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.9%Bottom 41%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.9%Bottom 23%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202646,86445th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year85.6%Top 22%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageDenver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$81,690Top 18%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageDenver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$62,320Top 11%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Bottom 31%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.7%Top 26%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.8%94th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.12.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.7% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024145k121k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $145,197 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers42,810$37,070
Retail Salespersons40,340$38,470
Stockers and Order Fillers32,610$44,480
Registered Nurses30,380$101,130
Business Operations Specialists, All Other28,670$94,990
Software Developers27,010$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.

Public schools
19
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
39.4%
Top 39% in Colorado
Reading proficiency
56.4%
Top 39% in Colorado
The 12 largest of 19 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Castle View High SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 11,93824.245%74%
Douglas County High SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 11,65919.551%73%
Aspen View Academy · charterDouglas County School District No. Re 11,01818.240%57%
Mesa Middle SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 185215.541%57%
World Compass Academy · charterDouglas County School District No. Re 179116.836%45%
Castle Rock Middle SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 166015.333%41%
Clear Sky ElementaryDouglas County School District No. Re 162716.535%58%
Academy Charter School · charterDouglas County School District No. Re 158116.153%68%
Sage Canyon ElementaryDouglas County School District No. Re 155216.733%46%
Meadow View Elementary SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 150818.141%55%
Flagstone Elementary SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 149617.141%47%
Rock Ridge Elementary SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 144915.531%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.

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.

Cost of living
105.8

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.

Rent as a share of income
35.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,089
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,000
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$652,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

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.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2023105.8Bottom 33%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−0.5%4th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+21.4%7th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+79.9%27th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year4.0Bottom 17%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.8%56th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6112024 ACS 5-Year29,15998th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,754Bottom 31%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,734Bottom 28%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,089Bottom 29%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1072024 ACS 5-Year$2,000Bottom 8%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,9942024 ACS 5-Year$652,90093rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1072024 ACS 5-Year$3,63580th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,7842024 ACS 5-Year$162,604Top 5%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.56%16th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year35.6%Bottom 19%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±142024 ACS 5-Year963rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%51st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.2%28th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3062024 ACS 5-Year94094th percentileof 32,3302024 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.

Development Momentum

44/ 100
Ranks 2,679 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 4 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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.

Units permitted
194
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.5
Bottom 49% nationally
Year over year
−40%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202483k74k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
43%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$111,960
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$108,444
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Arapahoe County, CO 6,819 people · 23% of arrivals
  2. Denver County, CO 3,524 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Jefferson County, CO 2,506 people · 8.3% of arrivals
  4. El Paso County, CO 1,213 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  5. Adams County, CO 897 people · 3.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Arapahoe County, CO 4,313 people · 17% of departures
  2. Denver County, CO 2,061 people · 8.3% of departures
  3. Jefferson County, CO 1,493 people · 6.0% of departures
  4. El Paso County, CO 1,205 people · 4.9% of departures
  5. 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

2020202120222023202420252k261
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−76%).

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.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DENVER CENTENNIAL AP, 13.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year932024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals15.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year252024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year482024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
48
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
93
90th percentile index
Days above 100
25
unhealthy for sensitive groups

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

54 / 100
Physical resilience

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.

HailElevated
WildfireHigh
Winter weatherModerate
TornadoElevated
LandslideModerate
AvalancheModerate

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.

Violent crime
30
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
943
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

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.

Homicide
1.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
16.7
per 100,000 residents

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.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year97.7%Top 14%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle13 miTop 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle9Top 5%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year1.4%Top 16%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
CentennialAPA13 mi10,001 ft
Colorado Air and Space PortCFO33 mi8,002 ft
Denver IntlDEN35 mi16,000 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.

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Area Score
59
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Other cities in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
DenverDenver County718,87756Denver vs Castle Rock
AuroraArapahoe County394,43252Aurora vs Castle Rock
LakewoodJefferson County156,58346Lakewood vs Castle Rock
ThorntonAdams County144,18754
ArvadaJefferson County122,63453
WestminsterAdams County115,48457
CentennialArapahoe County108,20162
Highlands RanchDouglas County102,25765
BroomfieldBroomfield County76,30466
Commerce CityAdams County66,44558
ParkerDouglas County61,78365
LittletonArapahoe County44,71060

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.

Compare

Put Castle Rock side by side with a similar place.

Castle Rock vs Ocean AcresCastle Rock vs Lafayette

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 forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.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
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA 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 areas

Every 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.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
8010438,479$134,335$624,200—
8010928,400$155,025$675,500—