7 Best Places To Call Home In Colorado In 2025

Colorado has long attracted visitors and longer-term settlers to its clean air and iconic Rocky Mountain scenes. Many come here for its winning mix of good jobs, good schools, and proximity to outdoor-lifestyle gems like ski resorts, mountain-biking trails, national and state parks for hiking, and whitewater rivers for rafting. While some of the state's larger towns and cities, like Denver and the ski paradise, Aspen, are well-known for attracting high-income residents, many of the state's smaller towns still offer beautiful, and affordable, places to live and purchase a home. Towns like the seven best places in Colorado to call home in 2025, which are detailed below, will offer ideas and inspiration for a potential move to one of America's most beautiful states.

Brighton

Northeast of Denver, the town of Brighton invites couples and young families to set roots down. The town's median home price comes to about $514,000 — comfortably below the state median home price of $556,000. Both of those figures come from the popular real estate website, Zillow.com.

Brighton's residents enjoy the diverse natural attractions within easy reach of the town. Barr Lake, east of downtown, sits next to Barr Lake State Park as well as a public archery range. Riverdale Dunes Golf Course sits west of town, while just north is the Wagon Wheel Skate Center, a perfect spot for family outings and birthday parties for kids. And for a night in the big city, Denver's bars, restaurants, and other nightlife are a half-hour's drive away.

Evans

North of Denver and southeast of Fort Collins, homebuyers in the town of Evans pay a median rate of about $405,000. Described as having a "sparse suburban" feel, according to the neighborhood statistics site Niche.com, Evans is a good choice for those wanting a quiet community with access to nearby fun. In fact, Niche.com gives the town an "A" grade for outdoor activities. Evans' position just west of the Rockies means its inhabitants can easily get out to for a hike or other pastimes outdoors, not to mention Boyd Lake State Park, which is west of town and even closer than the mountains.

And when the weather turns bad, residents and visitors can head indoors to the Colorado Model Railroad Museum, which celebrates small-scale reconstructions of the trains and rail technologies that transformed Colorado, and the rest of the West.

Johnstown

West of Evans, Johnstown offers potential homebuyers a median price of $524,000. The town sits within the Front Range region of Colorado's stretch of land just east of the Rockies. That makes Johnstown a place to live life and perhaps raise a family, with the benefits of mountain lifestyles just next door. Scenic places like Medicine Bow Curve and Beaver Meadows await a short drive west of town and up into the heights of Colorado's best outdoor playgrounds.

Golf fans enjoy Johnstown for its pair of nearby courses: Bella Ridge, and the flamboyantly named Mad Russian Golf Club. After a day outside, a pleasant evening of dinner theater awaits at the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse in downtown Johnstown.

Northglenn

The town of Northglenn invites consideration, with median home prices at $477,000. This Front Range town, set a convenient equal distance between the Rockies and Denver's main airport, seems to have it all. The town scores high in quality of jobs, outdoor activities, and overall health and fitness, Niche.com says.

Perhaps Northglenn's biggest draw sits southeast of its downtown: the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. The massive territory protects a diverse array of ecosystems and natural life. Wetlands, woodlands, and prairie grasslands support thriving populations of more than 300 species of plants and animals. These include some of America's most iconic animals: bison, prairie dogs, and coyotes. On the way back home to Northglenn, many stop to shop at the Mile High Flea Market, or head to an old-school movie at the 88 Drive-In Theatre. Boondocks Food and Fun, in downtown Northglenn, is another birthday-party stalwart, with bowling, laser tag, and mini golf.

Rifle

Not to be confused with nearby Gunbarrel, the town of Rifle offers a median home price of $483,000. This northwest Colorado town holds out mountain life in all its rugged nature: set at 5,500 feet in the Rockies, Rifle may sound remote, but its position by Interstate 70, as well as its county airport, make the place surprisingly accessible.

For things to see and do in Rifle, the mountains are the name of the game. Rifle Gap State Park, just north of town, has idyllic upland scenes, lakes, and the chance to fish, paddleboard, or swim. Harvey Gap State Park, just east of here, doubles the mountain-lake options close to town. For a taste of local fare and a conversation with locals, the Whistle Pig Coffee Stop and Cafe, in south Rifle, opens every day of the week but Wednesdays.

Welby

The town of Welby, set along the rolling South Platte River as it heads toward Denver, invites home buyers with attractive prices and a median of $419,000. This town is quintessential suburbia, with planned communities and orderly lanes. Green spaces like Rotella Park and Steele Street Park, which overlooks the South Platte, make this place popular with those seeking a quiet place to reside.

Anglers like Welby for its ample fishing options, from the South Platte to Thornton Gravel Ponds, abutting the town's eastern limit. The West Gravel Lakes Fishing Facility provides a third location to catch a big one. The town even organizes a "Learn to Fish" class for Welby's youngest angling enthusiasts.

Woodland Park

Northwest of Colorado Springs, the town of Woodland Park, at an elevation of nearly 8,500 feet, seems to stand above them all. Its median home price comes to $555,000 — just below the state-wide median. The town feels surrounded by great outdoor lifestyle destinations, but a local does not need to go far to work out in a beautiful setting. Meadow Wood Sports Complex welcomes residents in the west of town, while Memorial Park, with its paved lanes and picnic tables, makes for a genteel place to stroll and relax. Larger attractions, like Colorado's legendary rock formations at Garden of the Gods, and Pikes Peak, each lie an hour or shorter drive away from town.

Colorado's Best Towns Are Sometimes Small

As these places suggest, a combination of natural beauty and affordable home prices often come together in Colorado's smaller towns. Places like Brighton and Evans enable a quiet lifestyle while staying within reach of Denver's diverse going-out options. Rifle and Welby boast parks that out-of-staters would (and do) drive long hours to enjoy — not to mention their great fishing. Other towns, like Woodland Park, offer an elevated living experience close to major draws like Pikes Peak and other iconic state landmarks. For a lifelong Colorado adventure, and a place to call home, affordable addresses like these might just inspire your next move.