Colorado is a beautiful state in parts. Some regions are home to world-class ski resorts along with excellent places to camp, hike, fish, and enjoy the great outdoors. Colorado is home to Denver, the mile-high city, and most residents defend their beautiful state fiercely. There are, however, drawbacks to some of the cities in Colorado. There are a few places that you might want to avoid if you’re looking for a place to settle down and raise a family. We’ve consulted reports generated by local law enforcement, the FBI and several reputable sites that monitor and report on the livability of cities around the nation. When it comes to the health and well-being of your family, you can’t be too careful. We’ve analyzed the reports on the worst cities from several sources to determine which are the least livable. For our grading criteria we considered the crime rates including violent crime and property crimes, housing affordability and value, job availability and the quality of the public schools. We were shocked at how many cities in Colorado have a negative reputation. For your consideration, here are the 20 worst places to live in Colorado and the reasons why.
20. Trinidad, Colorado
Out There kicks off our list of the 20 worst places to live in Colorado with their interpretation of the top five cities. Although it’s close to the latest state park to be installed, the town currently lacks the appeal that would draw families to the area. Trinidad is near Colorado’s border with New Mexico. It’s a small town that has low employment opportunities and the values of the homes in the area are also low. The prospects for families in Trinidad are not that great.
19. Delta, Colorado
Delta is a town with a population of just 8,915 residents. It’s named for the geography of the area because it sits at the junction of the Gunnison and Uncompagre Rivers. There isn’t much in the way of entertainment in the small community. The public schools have low funding and they’re not that well rated. While there are plenty of outdoor recreational activities if you’re an outdoorsy type person, there isn’t a lot of incentive to live in Delta.
18. Federal Heights, Colorado
Federal Heights is not far from Denver, the mile-high city. While it’s okay to go there for a visit, it isn’t a place that you’d want to call home if you’re looking for peace, quiet, and relative safety. Federal Heights has a high rate of property crime. The unemployment rate is also high there so the prospects of getting a good job aren’t that good.
17. Alamosa, Colorado
Alamosa is located in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Out There gave it a poor ranking because of its low home values. The weather is extremely cold and windy during the winter months and the summers go to the other extreme with broiling heat and dry conditions. The crime rate is also high in Alamosa, making it an unattractive place to settle.
16. Lochbuie, Colorado
Lochbuie is a very small town that was incorporated as a large mobile home park during the 1960s era. Lochbuie has consistently been on the worst town in Colorado list because of its low-income rates and high unemployment. There aren’t many amenities in the community that would make living there enjoyable.
15. Grand Junction, Colorado
Roadsnacks provides us with feedback on the next five places in Colorado that are not desirable places to set down roots. They kick off the list with Grand Junction. This is a larger city with a population of 61,479 residents. While the city is improving in its desirability, up by five from its previous positioning, it’s still one of the worst places to live in the state. The unemployment rate is 7.7 percent making it Colorado’s 11th worst place to get a job. The public schools when compared to others in the state get less support in terms of funding, and the crime rates are high.
14. Rifle, Colorado
Rifle has a population of 9.600 residents. The desirability, according to Homesnacks has gone down 2 places. The unemployment rate is 5.4 percent making it the 22nd worst in the state and the median home value of $231,800 is the 23rd worst in the state. The town is losing ground in desirability. While it’s not the most terrible place to live it’s not one of the better choices.It’s never a good idea to move to a city that is going through a phase of decline.
13. Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo has remained at Homesnacks’ same place for the past year. The median home value is wretched at $130,000, which is the fifth-worst in the state. The unemployment rate at 9.5 percent is the third-worst. Pueblo is a large city of 109,985 and the crime rate is high. Salaries are low and the public schools are underfunded. There are far better places to choose to live.
12. Aurora, Colorado
Aurora is a large city with a population of 363,550 residents. The median home value is $259,000 and the unemployment rate is 5 percent. While these are not the worst statistics by far, it is one of the most dangerous places in the state of Colorado in terms of its crime rating. The odds of becoming the victim of a robbery or vandalism are 1 in 32.7. The homes are affordable for a reason and it’s not a good one.
11. La Junta, Colorado
La Junta is a small community with a population of just 6,914 residents. The median home value is among the worst that we’ve seen at $91,700. The unemployment rate is a high 7.5 percent. La Junta is in the southeast region of the state and the traffic flow seems to bypass the town. The population is in decline because residents are likely going to other places where housing is better. There’s not much there to make you want to move to La Junta and if you do buy a home there, you won’t have much to do for entertainment or for employment for that matter. Like most of the other public schools in Colorado, the funding is low, so the quality of the education your children will receive is also in question. There simply isn’t anything about the place that’s desirable.
10. Denver, Colorado
Our Community Now lists five of the worst cities in Colorado to raise a family. They base their analysis on 21 factors including divorce rates, safety, education, health, and related factors. Although Denver is at the top of the list for attractions, it is the worst in the state for finding affordable housing. This is a real problem if you’re not planning to have a home built. This large city also has a high rate of violent crimes which means it’s not safe to live there.
9. Clifton, Colorado
Clifton is listed as one of the worst places to live if you’re raising a family. It’s because it’s got the highest percentage of families who live in poverty compared to other cities in the state of Colorado. On top of that, it has the second-highest rate of divorces. The high poverty rate alone is enough to make you look for a different location.
8. Greenwood Village, Colorado
The least affordable city in the state of Colorado is Greenwood Village. Unless you’re made of money, this isn’t a place where the average couple or family with kids would want to settle. While there are some nice homes in the area, you have to earn a high salary to be able to afford living there.
7. Fort Carson, Colorado
Fort Carson is also listed as one of the worst cities in Colorado for families. This is because the median family income is the lowest of all of the cities on this list. If you can’t find a job that pays a livable wage then it’s going to be tough to make a go of it in this town. Unless you already have something great lined up, don’t expect to walk into a good job with any amount of ease. It’s tough and competitive unless you’re willing to work for low wages in this town.
6. Welby, Colorado
The last city on Our Community’s warning list is Welby. When we talked about the drawbacks to living in Clifton, Welby has it beat when it comes to undesirability. The divorce rate in Welby is number one in the state of Colorado. There are a lot of single parents raising kids in this town.
5. Snowmass Village, Colorado
Reddit completes our list with five of the worst places to live in Colorado. They base their concerns for these cities in accordance with the high rate of violent crime for each of them. Snowmass Village sounds like a lovely town for winter skiing, but it’s not very high on the desirability scale. Reddit reports that Snowmass Village has a high violent crime rate of 56.24 per 100,000 residents. This statistic is for murders committed in the town and surrounding area and doesn’t even count the number of other crimes in the area. The reputation for violence and other crimes has made this a place where people are hesitant to visit for long, let along to move there with their families.
4. Limon, Colorado
Limon has a crime rate of 53.7 violent crimes per 100,000 persons. This is a remarkably disturbing number which suggests that it’s not a safe place to move with your family. Reddit places it high on their list of the worst cities in the state of Colorado because of this startling statistic that was reported by local authorities. Although your chances of becoming a crime victim are high in this city, there are 3 that are much worse.
3. Granby, Colorado
Granby has an even higher rate of violent crime than its counterpart Snowmass Village. The local officials have reported that there are 61.12 violent crimes per 100,000 people in the area. When you combine this startling statistic with the fact that the public schools in Granby are underfunded, it doesn’t make the city coun very appealing for families who are in search of a place to put down roots. While Granby does have some decent amenities, it’s hard to move to a place where you don’t feel safe and secure because of the crime rates.
2. Ault, Colorado
Ault has a slightly higher rate of violent crime than Granby or Snowmass Village. Reddit lists it as one of the worst places in the state fo Colorado because of the violent and other crimes that are committed with such frequency in the city and the surrounding area. Ault suffers from the same lack of funding for the public schools that so many other cities in Colorado must deal with. The lack of high-quality education combined with the fear of becoming a crime victim places this city high on the list of places that are not recommended for families to live in.
1. La Veta, Colorado
The number one worst city to live in within the state of Colorado is LaVeta. La Veta is not a place that anyone would want to live, let alone raise a a family. The most recent statistics for the crime rates show that there were 258.732 violent crimes committed per 100,000 persons in the city. This makes it one of the most violent cities in the entire state of Colorado. The schools are in the same situation as those of other cities in the state with low public funding. Most other cities in Colorado are safer to live than in La Veta. You have a 25.8 in 10,000 chance of becoming the victim of a violent crime including murder, robbery and assault according to the current statistics gathered by the local authorities. La Veta has a few things going for it like access to entertainment and other amenities but it tops Reddit’s list for being the most dangerous city in Colorado.
No comments: