Parker, Colorado

Area Profile

61,783 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Parker, in Douglas County.

67out of 100
Area Score
Top 27% of 2,944 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 24% of 3,904 published cities69
GrowthTop 29% of 2,973 published cities62
Housing affordability2345th of 4,223 published cities77
Climate3212th of 4,223 published cities62
Physical resilience2343rd of 4,182 published cities51
AccessTop 1% of 4,226 published cities100
Economic stabilityTop 2% of 4,226 published cities84
The quick read

Parker ranks in the top 24% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $133,369.

Residential permitting has slowed: 602 units authorized over the past twelve months, 40% below the prior year.

A major airport is 6 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
61,783
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$133,369
Top 7% nationally
Density
2,752/sq mi
22.4 sq mi of land
Median age
36.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Douglas County
Colorado
Metro area
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
Nearest major airport
APA
6 mi · Centennial
Median home value
$646,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4% is lower than 87% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment fell 2.9% over the past year, to 36,915 employed residents.

56% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 92% of measured US cities.

Household income is higher than at least 93% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,893$133,369Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,168$56,841Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate4.4%Bottom 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute28.1 minTop 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher56.0%Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment36,915Bottom 43%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)0.4%Top 43%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.9%Bottom 11%June 2026
Labor force38,227Bottom 43%June 2026
Labor force participation75.8%Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$81,690Top 18%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$62,320Top 11%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.2%Bottom 35%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.4%Bottom 13%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.02.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in June 2026. 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
2021202220232024133k120k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $133,369 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

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.

There are 18.0 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
26
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.0
across all schools here
Math proficiency
Reading proficiency
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Legend High SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 12,20623.2
Chaparral High SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 12,00721.6
Ponderosa High SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 11,40620.4
Leman Classical Academy · charterDouglas County School District No. Re 11,39020.1
Cimarron MiddleDouglas County School District No. Re 11,05219.1
Sagewood Middle SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 181616.7
Sierra Middle SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 180516.1
Pine Lane ElementaryDouglas County School District No. Re 174414.3
Parker Core Knowledge · charterDouglas County School District No. Re 170515.7
North Star Academy · charterDouglas County School District No. Re 168419.0
Gold Rush ElementaryDouglas County School District No. Re 163918.8
Prairie Crossing Elementary SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 161217.5

17.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Colorado’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $2,096 takes 19% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.8 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
18.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$2,096
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$646,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.85Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate71.8%Bottom 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±58022,397Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$100$2,096Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,599$646,300Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income18.9%Top 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2.7%Bottom 18%2024 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 →
Development Momentum
62/ 100
Top 29% of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

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 11% since 2020, reaching 65,473 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

At 9.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
602
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.7
Top 14% nationally
Year over year
−40%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
25.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202465k59k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
2020202120222023202420251k418
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+69%).

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.

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, 5.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND2.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation15.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing42°F1991-2020 Normals

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.

Physical risk

51 / 100
Physical resilience

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

WildfireHigh
HailHigh
Winter weatherModerate
TornadoElevated
LandslideModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, strong wind, inland flooding, cold wave, volcanic activity, earthquake, heat wave, ice storm, 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.

Douglas County records 1.6 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 9.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 11.7 per 100,000 residents in Douglas County.

Homicide
1.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
9.9
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
11.7
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
16.7
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 Douglas 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 Parker rather than Parker 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
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. 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.

Access

9 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 6 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
CentennialAPA6 mi10,001 ft
Colorado Air and Space PortCFO23 mi8,002 ft
Denver IntlDEN25 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
67
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Other cities in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
DenverDenver County718,87757vs Parker
AuroraArapahoe County394,43258vs Parker
LakewoodJefferson County156,58347vs Parker
ThorntonAdams County144,18761vs Parker
ArvadaJefferson County122,63455vs Parker
WestminsterAdams County115,48461vs Parker
CentennialArapahoe County108,20164vs Parker
Highlands RanchDouglas County102,257vs Parker
Castle RockDouglas County79,12365vs Parker
BroomfieldBroomfield County76,30464vs Parker
Commerce CityAdams County66,44567vs Parker
LittletonArapahoe County44,71059vs Parker

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)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
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
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

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.

ZIP codes in Parker

2 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
8013480,302$146,77869
8013836,895$145,01366