Living in Bayfield, Colorado: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.5% below the U.S. average in the parts of Colorado outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 7.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byAnimas Surgical Hospital, LLC in Durango, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 228 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bayfield meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $412,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 18%La Plata County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,236 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $93,125U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 73%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,446 a yearColorado: $2,602
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 97.5U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Colorado outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Colorado outside metro areas, not Bayfield alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 2,9742020: 2,867
Median age: 32.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 8%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 30%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 33%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (24%); retail (16%); construction (16%)
Unemployment rate: 6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 17%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 8%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Animas Surgical Hospital, LLC, Durango, CO, about 15 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Bayfield, run by Bayfield School District No. 10Jt-R.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Colorado's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 71%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 89%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 10°F
July average high: 87°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 22 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 202 a year
Rain and melted snow: 21.4 inches a year
Snow: 93 inches a year
Elevation: 6,975 feet

Weather stations: Durango La Plata Co Ap (11 miles away) and Bayfield 6.2 N (6 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Animas Surgical Hospital, LLCEmergency room15

Grand Junction, COCity of 72,000139

Denver, COMetro of 3.1 million228

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Animas Surgical Hospital, Grand Junction, Denver.

La Plata County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Spring Creek Archeological District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Aztec Ruins National Monument35 miles
Mesa Verde National Park41 miles
Yucca House National Monument60 miles

Read about Bayfield's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bayfield?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Durango, CO19,700 people, 16 miles
Pagosa Springs, CO1,800 people, 33 miles
Aztec, NM6,100 people, 36 miles
Dulce, NM3,200 people, 38 miles
Mancos, CO1,300 people, 39 miles
Bloomfield, NM7,300 people, 40 miles

Smaller places

Ignacio, CO869 people, 8 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.