Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Area Profile

10,241 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Glenwood Springs, in Garfield County.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 30% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 32% of 4,199 cities measured65
Schools2,325th of 4,162 cities measured45
GrowthTop 24% of 4,224 cities measured63
Housing affordability3,338th of 4,218 cities measured50
Climate4,126th of 4,225 cities measured53
Physical resilience3,538th of 4,226 cities measured22
Access2,322nd of 4,226 cities measured91
Economic stabilityTop 25% of 4,226 cities measured70
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.1% and median household income $91,481, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Garfield County, CO, which contains Glenwood Springs, rather than for Glenwood Springs alone.

In the public schools here, 34% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.6 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 29% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 5.4 times what its owners earn.

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
10,241
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$91,481
Top 23% nationally
Density
1,755/sq mi
5.8 sq mi of land
Median age
36.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Colorado
Micro area
Nearest major airport
EGE
24 mi · Eagle County Rgnl
Median home value
$619,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Garfield County, CO, which contains Glenwood Springs, is 3.1%, lower than in 91% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Garfield County, CO, which contains Glenwood Springs, fell 2.0% over the past year, to 32,506 employed residents.

36% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 78% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsGarfield County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$98,60680th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftGarfield County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$73,61553rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$13,2782024 ACS 5-Year$91,481Top 23%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,2422024 ACS 5-Year$42,207Top 28%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year7.8%Top 37%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year30.9 minBottom 30%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year36.3%Top 22%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year70.2%29th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentGarfield County, CO’s figureJuly 202632,506Bottom 37%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Garfield County, CO’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Garfield County, CO’s figureJuly 2026−2.0%Bottom 21%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceGarfield County, CO’s figureJuly 202633,53237th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year86.5%Top 19%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year1.7%88th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Garfield County, CO’s figureJuly 2026+0.2%Bottom 31%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateGarfield County, CO’s figureJuly 20263.1%Top 9%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.4%54th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202491k70k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $91,481 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Garfield County, CO, which contains this city.

34% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.6 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.6
across 5 of them
Math proficiency
33.9%
Bottom 48% in Colorado
Reading proficiency
45.5%
Bottom 38% in Colorado
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Glenwood Springs High SchoolRoaring Fork School District No. Re-11,03218.847%60%
Two Rivers Community School · charterRoaring Fork School District No. Re-139012.6——
Riverview SchoolRoaring Fork School District No. Re-138313.720%33%
Glenwood Springs Middle SchoolRoaring Fork School District No. Re-138014.126%33%
Yampah Mountain SchoolColorado River BOCES18116.55%15%
The Yampah Mountain High School NurseryColorado River BOCES0———

48.8% 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 $2,535 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.41% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,605, below the $1,867 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,605 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $64,200 a year, about 70% of the median household income here of $91,481.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,867 a month.

A median home at $619,000 costs 5.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $115,361, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
29.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,605
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,867
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$619,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Glenwood Springs’s median household income of $91,481, 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%45th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Colorado’s figure2026 Q2+46.4%68th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Colorado’s figure2026 Q2+114.4%81st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.82024 ACS 5-Year5.4Bottom 7%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year54.7%14th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3052024 ACS 5-Year4,20187th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,223Top 39%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,232Bottom 48%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,605Top 46%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$2822024 ACS 5-Year$1,867Bottom 10%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$41,8662024 ACS 5-Year$619,00093rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1832024 ACS 5-Year$2,53566th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$15,9522024 ACS 5-Year$115,361Top 18%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.41%6th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year29.0%Bottom 46%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1002024 ACS 5-Year11590th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%73rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%36th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1492024 ACS 5-Year30584th 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.

Development Momentum

63/ 100
Top 24% of 4,224 published city 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 3% since 2020, reaching 10,311 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 24 units authorized in 2025, 59% below the prior year.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Garfield County, which contains Glenwood Springs, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $98,606, above the $73,615 of households that moved out.

At 2.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
20
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.0
Bottom 41% nationally
Year over year
+150%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
25.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202410k10k
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, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
45%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$98,606
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$73,615
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Eagle County, CO 493 people · 16% of arrivals
  2. Pitkin County, CO 242 people · 7.8% of arrivals
  3. Mesa County, CO 210 people · 6.8% of arrivals
  4. Denver County, CO 95 people · 3.1% of arrivals
  5. Jefferson County, CO 89 people · 2.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Mesa County, CO 406 people · 13% of departures
  2. Eagle County, CO 226 people · 7.4% of departures
  3. Pitkin County, CO 139 people · 4.5% of departures
  4. Denver County, CO 75 people · 2.5% of departures
  5. El Paso County, CO 71 people · 2.3% 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 Garfield County, CO. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025589.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+167%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 13°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 10.7 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 49, in the Good band, and about 5 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station RIFLE GARFIELD CO AP, 20.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND1.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year742024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals10.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals13°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year52024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year492024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals49°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
49
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
74
90th percentile index
Days above 100
5
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

22 / 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 73% of it.

LandslideModerate
WildfireElevated
AvalancheModerate
Inland floodingElevated
EarthquakeModerate
Volcanic activityModerate
Cold waveModerate

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

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
366
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
3,513
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.

Glenwood Springs's police department reported 366 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 3,513.

Garfield County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.8 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 17.1 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 12.8 per 100,000 residents in Garfield County.

Homicide
2.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
17.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
12.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
27.1
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 Glenwood Springs’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 Glenwood Springs (Garfield County) rather than Glenwood Springs 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.

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

7 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Eagle County Rgnl at 24 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year91.5%Top 42%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle24 miBottom 37%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle7Top 13%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year7.2%Top 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Eagle County RgnlEGE24 mi9,000 ft
Aspen-Pitkin County/Sardy FldASE34 mi8,006 ft
Yampa ValleyHDN65 mi10,000 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
53
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Other cities in Rifle, CO

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
RifleGarfield County10,57047Rifle vs Glenwood Springs

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 Glenwood Springs side by side with a similar place.

Glenwood Springs vs Santa ClaraGlenwood Springs vs Wheat Ridge

Moving to Glenwood Springs 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
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 Glenwood Springs

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Glenwood Springs with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
8160116,844$109,129$798,90053