Routt County, CO

County Profile

25,084 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Routt County, CO.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 34% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 43% of 1,463 counties measured59
SchoolsTop 4% of 1,377 counties measured89
Growth836th of 1,453 counties measured46
Housing affordability1,453rd of 1,462 counties measured34
Climate1,448th of 1,463 counties measured46
Physical resilience1,145th of 1,463 counties measured34
AccessTop 7% of 1,463 counties measured98
Economic stabilityTop 15% of 1,463 counties measured85
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.4% and median household income $106,489, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

Public schools test above most of the state: 49% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 4% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 232 units authorized over the past twelve months, 50% 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
25,084
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$106,489
Top 4% nationally
Density
11/sq mi
2,362 sq mi of land
Median age
43.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Routt County
Colorado
Nearest major airport
HDN
12 mi · Yampa Valley
Median home value
$854,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4%, lower than in 77% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 4.4% over the past year, to 13,270 employed residents.

54% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 98% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $106,489 is higher than in 96% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$138,26498th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$96,89495th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,8812024 ACS 5-Year$106,489Top 4%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,2112024 ACS 5-Year$68,776Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$130,747Top 1%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%Top 2%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.0 minTop 19%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year54.2%Top 2%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year66.0%8th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202613,270Bottom 17%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−6.2%Bottom 4%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−4.4%Bottom 4%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202613,73817th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year85.4%Top 5%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year1.7%93rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Bottom 29%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.4%Top 23%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year21.3%97th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.92.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in July 2026. It has been falling for the last 2 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

2021202220232024106k84k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $106,489 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.

49% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 68% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.2 students for every full-time teacher across 15 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
15
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
48.9%
Top 14% in Colorado
Reading proficiency
68.4%
Top 1% in Colorado
The 12 largest of 15 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Steamboat Springs High SchoolSteamboat Springs School District No. Re 287117.157%82%
Steamboat Springs Middle SchoolSteamboat Springs School District No. Re 244012.259%71%
Soda Creek Elementary SchoolSteamboat Springs School District No. Re 237912.659%70%
Strawberry Park Elementary SchoolSteamboat Springs School District No. Re 236811.956%68%
Sleeping Giant SchoolSteamboat Springs School District No. Re 23379.9——
Hayden Valley Elementary SchoolHayden School District No. Re 123214.527%42%
Steamboat Montessori · charterState Charter School Institute14014.035%65%
South Routt Elementary SchoolSouth Routt School District No. Re 313011.842%42%
Hayden High SchoolHayden School District No. Re 111917.010%50%
Soroco High SchoolSouth Routt School District No. Re 310310.330%90%
Hayden Middle SchoolHayden School District No. Re 19311.617%37%
North Routt Community Charter School · charterSteamboat Springs School District No. Re 28210.357%72%

21.4% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Colorado is up 46% over five years, and up 2.8% 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 $2,736 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.32% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,022, close to the $1,917 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,022 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $80,900 a year, about 76% of the median household income here of $106,489.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,917 a month.

A median home at $854,700 costs 6.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $124,375, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
33.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
6.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,022
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,917
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$854,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Routt County’s median household income of $106,489, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Colorado’s figure2026 Q2+2.8%31st percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Colorado’s figure2026 Q2+46.4%59th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Colorado’s figure2026 Q2+114.4%83rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year6.9Bottom 1%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year76.0%58th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±512024 ACS 5-Year17,16960th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,845Bottom 4%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,424Bottom 9%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,022Bottom 6%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1322024 ACS 5-Year$1,917Bottom 2%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$64,9152024 ACS 5-Year$854,70099th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1842024 ACS 5-Year$2,73681st percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,4242024 ACS 5-Year$124,375Top 5%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.32%3rd percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year33.2%Bottom 9%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±4102024 ACS 5-Year4,34993rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year25.3%95th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.0%49th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3602024 ACS 5-Year5,88883rd percentileof 3,2222024 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.

Development Momentum

46/ 100
Ranks 836 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 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 2% since 2020, reaching 25,243 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 218 units authorized in 2025, 63% below the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Routt County lost about 0.7% 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 $138,264, above the $96,894 of households that moved out.

At 9.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
232
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.2
Top 9% nationally
Year over year
−50%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
23.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202425k25k
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
−0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
59%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$138,264
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$96,894
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Denver County, CO 113 people · 7.5% of arrivals
  2. Jefferson County, CO 73 people · 4.9% of arrivals
  3. Larimer County, CO 59 people · 3.9% of arrivals
  4. Boulder County, CO 51 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  5. Douglas County, CO 49 people · 3.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Moffat County, CO 137 people · 8.3% of departures
  2. Larimer County, CO 94 people · 5.7% of departures
  3. Denver County, CO 90 people · 5.4% of departures
  4. Douglas County, CO 43 people · 2.6% of departures
  5. Boulder County, CO 41 people · 2.5% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025597218
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−50%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 3°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 14.1 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 12, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

-10°10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CRAIG MOFFAT CO AP, 28.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND1.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year252024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals14.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals3°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year122024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals51°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
12
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
25
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

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

34 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, avalanche and wildfire, with inland flooding alone responsible for 78% of it. Avalanche is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

WildfireElevated
Inland floodingHigh
EarthquakeModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, avalanche, winter weather, lightning, volcanic activity, drought, ice storm, cold wave, strong wind, hail, tornado, heat wave, coastal flooding, tsunami, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Routt County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 16.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 13.3 per 100,000 residents in Routt County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
16.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
13.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
24.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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.

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 Routt County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Yampa Valley at 12 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year93.2%Top 8%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle12 miTop 13%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%Top 8%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Yampa ValleyHDN12 mi10,000 ft
Eagle County RgnlEGE58 mi9,000 ft
Shively FldSAA67 mi8,801 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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55
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April 2025 to March 2026; March 2025 to February 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.

Cities in Routt County, CO