Gunbarrel, Colorado

Area Profile

10,051 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Gunbarrel, in Boulder County.

Area Score unavailable

Missing required signal: growth. AreaProfile withholds a score rather than inferring the missing dimensions.

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity2278th of 3,904 cities measured52
Housing affordability3592nd of 4,223 cities measured55
Climate4216th of 4,223 cities measured42
Physical resilience2313th of 4,182 cities measured52
AccessTop 8% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stabilityTop 18% of 4,226 cities measured75
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.0% and median household income $109,407, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published city profiles.

Buying strains local incomes far more than renting does — the median home is 7.5 times median household income, against a historic benchmark near three — while rent takes 22% of it.

A major airport is 11 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
10,051
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$109,407
Top 14% nationally
Density
1,609/sq mi
6.2 sq mi of land
Median age
43.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Boulder County
Colorado
Metro area
Boulder, CO
Nearest major airport
BJC
11 mi · Rocky Mountain Metro
Median home value
$821,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.0% is lower than 62% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment fell 3.1% over the past year, to 177,147 employed residents.

70% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 96% of measured US cities.

Household income is higher than at least 86% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$13,543$109,407Top 14%of 29,5732024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$8,073$75,226Top 5%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate8.8%Bottom 41%of 31,9002024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute23.8 minBottom 35%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher70.4%Top 4%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Employment177,147Top 31%of 3,904June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-4.8%Bottom 4%of 3,903June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-3.1%Bottom 7%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force184,462Top 31%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force participation72.3%Top 13%of 31,9332024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$91,760Top 9%of 3,6582025 OEWS
Median annual wage$69,580Top 9%of 3,6582025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.1%Bottom 44%of 3,904June 2026
Unemployment rate4.0%Bottom 38%of 3,904June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
2021202220232024112k98k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $109,407 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 — Boulder, CO
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Software Developers7,130$164,560
Fast Food and Counter Workers4,880$36,190
Retail Salespersons4,880$38,700
Business Operations Specialists, All Other3,610$94,040
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel3,230$99,990
Registered Nurses3,140$103,290

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.

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

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,972 takes 22% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 7.5 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
21.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
7.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,972
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$821,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income7.50Top 4%of 28,4732024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate63.1%Bottom 25%of 31,8432024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3685,017Top 11%of 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$137$1,972Top 9%of 23,4322024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$31,654$821,000Top 4%of 29,3422024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.6%Top 31%of 23,2012024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2.4%Bottom 17%of 32,0012024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →

No building-permit activity is published for this location by the Census Building Permits Survey.

Weather & climate

1 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 68°F and January a low of 12°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.9 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 49, in the Good band, and about 10 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BOULDER 14 W, 19.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index77.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation33.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low12°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high68°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months11991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 100102024 calendar year
Median air quality index49.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing36°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
49
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
77
90th percentile index
Days above 100
10
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. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

52 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and tornado.

HailElevated
WildfireHigh
TornadoElevated
Inland floodingModerate
AvalancheModerate
EarthquakeModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, winter weather, landslide, strong wind, ice storm, cold wave, volcanic activity, heat wave, drought.

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.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Boulder County records 1.9 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 8.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 14.4 per 100,000 residents in Boulder County.

Homicide
1.9
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.3
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
14.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
18.1
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Boulder County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Gunbarrel rather than Gunbarrel itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

10 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 11 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Rocky Mountain MetroBJC11 mi9,000 ft
Northern Colorado RgnlFNL28 mi8,500 ft
Denver IntlDEN30 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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Other cities in Boulder, CO

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BoulderBoulder County106,43344vs Gunbarrel
LongmontBoulder County99,40655vs Gunbarrel
LafayetteBoulder County30,60258vs Gunbarrel
LouisvilleBoulder County20,78658vs Gunbarrel
SuperiorBoulder County13,30565vs Gunbarrel

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.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.