2022 Best Places to Retire in Colorado

• Suburb of Denver, CO

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  Rating 4.13 out of 5  8 reviews

Current Resident: HH since 2015 where Hutchinson Homes were very well built in 60s. Big yards, mostly good neighbors, multi-use trails wind through the 'hood and just south of the Cherry Creek Trail. Most homes actually in Denver County though some homes are in Arapahoe County. Lower crime than in my old central Denver neighborhood. Many great schools in the area from K-12 and also undergraduate and grad schools nearby. Light rail is under 1 mile from my home. Still in Denver but lots are bigger so you can get a house with a good 2-car garage where in more-central Park Hill neighborhood people have to park on street and move their cars on street-sweeping days. A few original residents. Bible Park is a Denver City Park that has a brand new huge playground for the younger school aged "yard ape" kids, tennis courts for all, but no live music like some city parks such as City Park which has a free summer live jazz concert -- and oldsters complain if you suggest live music at Bible Park.... Read 8 reviews

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• Population 2,843

• Town in Colorado

• grade B minus

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• grade A

• Population 3,724

• Town in Colorado

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  Rating 3.62 out of 5  21 reviews

Current Resident: We are a young family who have been living in Estes Park for almost a decade. There are so many wonderful things about this tiny town and some not so great things. We love the tiny community feel; Everyone knows everyone. Everyone is active in some way, so family get togethers often revolve around outdoor activities and we LOVE that! The views and location can't be matched. Unfortunately the town isn't made for families. It's built for tourism. The housing is wildly expensive and there's not nearly enough. The job opportunities are mediocre, entry level jobs during the summer, but finding a year round position that can support a family is not easy.... Read 21 reviews

• grade B

• grade B minus

• grade A

• Population 5,942

Niche User: I plan on leaving this area when I go to college, but I know I will be back here to raise my kids, because this is an area that I want my kids to grow up in. It's the perfect mix between small community and big city. We have all the resources of a big city but have the living of a small town. Everyone seems to know one another, and has family here. The schools are improving for the most part, and the town continues to grow.... Read 10 reviews

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• grade B minus

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• Population 9,092

• Town in Colorado

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  Rating 4.8 out of 5  5 reviews

Current Resident: My husband and I moved to Genesee a few months ago. I feel like the most blessed individual on the planet. It is a dream living here. The views are to die for, and it is extremely peaceful and quiet here. The wildlife is precious! Elk, foxes, deer are so fun to watch. They don't even seem to be afraid of us. We are so so blessed to live here. I feel like I literally live in a snow globe...how did we get so lucky?!... Read 5 reviews

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• grade A minus

• grade A

• Population 4,241

• Suburb of Colorado Springs, CO

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  Rating 4.2 out of 5  5 reviews

Current Resident: I've lived in Palmer Lake my entire life and I love it. The view is amazing and so are the houses. There aren't many big, fancy, modern houses, though there are some, but instead there are average sized modern houses. The view is of the Rocky Mountains and there are great schools in the area.... Read 5 reviews

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• Population 2,652

• Suburb of Denver, CO

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  Rating 3.86 out of 5  7 reviews

Current Resident: Castle Pines Village is easily accessible to I-25, has multiple pools, and social events. The country club and golf club are within the community. It is a gated community that is manned and emergency services are at the residents' disposal. The setting is beautiful, and local shops (restaurants, spa) are nearby. The area surrounding the neighborhood is very natural, and deer often roam around. The neighborhood is close to Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, and Lonetree. There are many public schools around, as well as excellent private schools. Castle Pines Village is about thirty minutes away from the Denver International Airport. The area is within driving distance of the mountains, to go tubing and skiing in the winter, and mountain biking and hiking in the summer. Boulder is roughly an hour away.... Read 7 reviews

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• Population 4,356

• Suburb of Denver, CO

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  Rating 4.07 out of 5  14 reviews

Current Resident: Amazing neighborhood! Super safe, friendly neighbors, great for kids! It's a wonderful place to live with lots of outdoor options and walking areas.... Read 14 reviews

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• Population 11,389

• Town in Colorado

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  Rating 3.53 out of 5  17 reviews

Former Resident: Salida is a great small town to take a small getaway vacation. In the winter you have Christmas mountain and Monarch Mountain if you are into skiing and Snowboarding. In the summer you have hiking, four-wheeling, downtown shopping and anything you want involving the great outdoors and the beauty of being in the Heart of the Rocky Mountains.... Read 17 reviews

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• grade A minus

• grade A

• Population 5,671

• Town in Colorado

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  Rating 3.9 out of 5  52 reviews

Current Resident: Evergreen has a unique mountain town personality. The access to the hiking and biking trails is hard to find elsewhere. The neighborhoods are mostly quiet, and the school systems are very good. As for my critiques, in the summer the traffic can get very bad from all the Denver traffic, and there are not many career opportunities in the area, so many people commute the hour to Denver.... Read 52 reviews

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• Population 9,338

• Suburb of Denver, CO

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  Rating 4.1 out of 5  10 reviews

Current Resident: Growing up in Cherry Hills Village was an excellent place to be raised. It is one of the most active communities as everyone is out walking their pets, playing sports, doing yard work, etc. The location of the suburb is perfect because it is only 15 minutes from the city but has its own isolated feel to it.... Read 10 reviews

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• grade A

• Population 6,426

• Suburb of Denver, CO

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  Rating 4.25 out of 5  4 reviews

Current Resident: It is a quiet little neighborhood. Quick access to anything you need (shopping, entertainment) yet has it's own privacy away from the city life. The people are great!... Read 4 reviews

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• Population 1,701

• Suburb of Denver, CO

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  Rating 4.33 out of 5  6 reviews

Niche User: There is a neighborhood security guard and everyone seems to pay attention to those around them.... Read 6 reviews

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• grade A

• Population 2,342

• Town in Colorado

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  Rating 4.33 out of 5  15 reviews

Current Resident: A beautiful mountain-valley town. Friendly and helpful faces abound. A plethora of individual and family activities. A tight-knit community of helping hands. Students reach out to raise spirits higher, to both their family and those around in need.... Read 15 reviews

• grade B

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• grade A minus

• Population 2,859

• Suburb of Denver, CO

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  Rating 4.31 out of 5  59 reviews

Current Resident: Very safe, friendly and fun environment! Always lots of things do: walking through the gorgeous parks, going to the reservoirs, attending fun holidays events, listening to live music at nearby amphitheatres, etc. Schools are highly ranked as well!... Read 59 reviews

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• Population 15,548

• Town in Colorado

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  Rating 2.63 out of 5  16 reviews

Current Resident: It is a small town with very helpful people levIng in it. It is very quite but the community is good and you will feel safe.... Read 16 reviews

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• Population 3,034

• Town in Colorado

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  Rating 3.64 out of 5  42 reviews

Current Resident: Montrose is an excellent town on the western slope located just a short drive from some of the most amazing natural wonders the Southwest has to offer. Montrose is also a great place to raise a family, with our recreation district offering a multitude of sports for any age, including year round soccer in our brand-new indoor soccer complex! Montrose also offers the largest and newest recreation center on the western slope, including an 11 lane lap pool, basketball courts, a lazy river and racquetball courts. Montrose public schools offer amazing sports programs and have recently become deeply invested in STEM activities. Overall, Montrose is an amazing town with so much to offer and it will make an excellent home for anyone wanting to move here.... Read 42 reviews

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• Population 20,098

• Suburb of Denver, CO

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  Rating 4.2 out of 5  15 reviews

Current Resident: We have lived in Applewood for over 27 years. Like many residents, we don't want to move. We're 20 minutes to downtown Denver, and 10 minutes to the mountains. We have large lots, great views, and custom-built brick homes. There are many amazing trails within walking distance. We are close to I-70. It is true that many of the kids who grew up here return as adults to raise their families in this easy-going neighborhood. Our neighbors are intelligent and friendly, for the most part. This place is like "Leave it to Beaver" moved to the 21st Century. Once again,, we're not moving!!!... Read 15 reviews

• grade A

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• Population 8,236

• Suburb of Denver, CO

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  Rating 4.09 out of 5  323 reviews

Current Resident: Centennial is a wonderful city, there are many local stores and favorites like Target, Walmart, Crumble Cookie, Walgreens, etc. If you're on Arapahoe Rd, you're a few minutes from Arapahoe Crossings, The Streets at Southglenn, and Park Meadows Mall. There are many parks to take your children to, and recently I discovered a recreation center, South Suburban Parks and Recreation. A great addition to have in the neighborhood, with lots of activities for many ages! There are also surrounding schools from the cherry creek school district, also present in the area is Kaiser Permanente. What's also great about Centennial is that there is an amphitheater, so if you're looking for a night out, it's an experience to live. The neighborhoods in the area are quiet and full of wonderful folks. Overall, in Centennial, you can find something for the family, have a good time and call this are home.... Read 323 reviews

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• Population 107,972

• Suburb of Colorado Springs, CO

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  Rating 4.17 out of 5  12 reviews

Nearby Resident: Manitou Springs is a small but popular town. The town gives access to free clean drinking water, there are seven mineral springs that bring up water for people to drink. I have seen people even bring empty jugs of water to fill up in these springs. The town also has a river along side of it where people can walk right next to the river. Many festivals happen in manitou like the annual coffin race. manitou is also very family friendly, the town has a “penny arcade” with tons of old school arcade games that are mostly just a quarter each to play. There are a lot of ice cream shops and a really good pizza shop called, Hell’s Kitchen, ironically across the street from a shop called, Heaven’s Juice Bar. When the sun goes down, the town is still alive, there are quite a few bars in this town that are oddly enough not really noticeable during the day. At the edge of the town is a hiking path called, The Incline, that has 2,744 steps to climb with 2,000 foot increase in elevation.... Read 12 reviews

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• Population 4,912

• Town in Colorado

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  Rating 3.84 out of 5  31 reviews

Niche User: We love everything about this little town. The beautiful views, fresh air and friendly people. Absolutely beautiful!... Read 31 reviews

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• Population 7,854

Current Resident: I absolutely love Windsor. It isn't too close or too far from doing anything that you want to do. You can drive thirty minutes any direction and get almost anything you need. If you can't get it in that 30 minutes, you just drive an hour down to Denver where there is literally everything! Windsor's community is super welcoming. The people here are very generous and willing to help anyone!... Read 82 reviews

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• Population 31,972

Current Resident: Orchard mesa is a nice town on the outskirts of grand junction. The fair grounds are located up here and we have plenty of great restaurants as well. The schools around here are also very good and they just rebuilt orchard mesa middle school.... Read 4 reviews

• grade C+

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• grade A minus

• Population 6,592

• Town in Colorado

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  Rating 3.39 out of 5  74 reviews

Current Resident: Canon City is a small mountain town with so much life. Being a transplant to this town was the best thing that ever happened to be, Canon hold so much of Colorado's history and is one of Colorado's top grossing tourist destination being home of The Royal Gorge Bridge (the worlds highest suspension bridge) and The Royal Gorge Railroad and Train which converts to the Polar Express during Christmas time for all families to enjoy.... Read 74 reviews

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• Population 17,157

• Suburb of Denver, CO

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  Rating 4.01 out of 5  421 reviews

Current Resident: I grew up and lived in Highlands Ranch my entire life. I've gone to school in the community all my life and the people there are amazing. There are tons of activities to do all year round. There are a ton of great schools there and a bunch of sweet and funny people all around the community. Living in Highlands Ranch my entire life, I have never witnessed an actual crime and the overall safety is amazing. I work at one of the rec centers and not once have I had to deal with any violence or troubles. Overall Highlands Ranch is a very good place to live in. The people there and the overall feeling it gives you really makes you feel welcomed. It is a very great place to live because they offer pretty much everything a person can ask for and much more!... Read 421 reviews

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• Population 103,238