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Carbondale, Colorado

Carbondale is a small town of about 6,800 people in Garfield County, Colorado, about 6,200 feet above sea level. It has grown about 5% since 2020. A typical home costs about 8.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Denver, is about 127 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
6,762
up 4.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$900,600
Garfield County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$108,324
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Colorado
97.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
11 miles
Glenwood Springs, CO
To Denver
127 mi
straight line

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 8.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood7 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 6.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byValley View Hospital Association in Glenwood Springs, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 127 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 Carbondale 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
$900,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Garfield County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,167 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$108,324U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
64%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,917 a yearColorado: $2,602
Homes built before 1940
5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
19%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%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 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Colorado outside metro areas, not Carbondale 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
6,7622020: 6,464
Median age
43.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
53%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%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
Professional and business services (24%); schools, health care and social services (21%); construction (11%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
19%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Valley View Hospital Association, Glenwood Springs, CO, about 11 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

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

5 public schools in Carbondale, run by Roaring Fork School District No. Re-1 and State Charter School Institute.

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
86%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
98%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
12°F
July average high
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
39 a year
Nights at or below freezing
174 a year
Rain and melted snow
15.5 inches a year
Snow
39 inches a year
Elevation
6,202 feet

Weather station: Glenwood Spgs #2 (10 miles away). 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

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: Valley View Hospital Association, Grand Junction, Denver.

Garfield County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Holland-Thompson Property.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park58 miles
  • Curecanti National Recreation Area60 miles

Read about Carbondale's history on Wikipedia.

Know Carbondale?

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

Smaller places

  • Mulford, CO (unincorporated)413 people, 3 miles
  • Catherine, CO (unincorporated)255 people, 4 miles
  • Cattle Creek, CO (unincorporated)396 people, 5 miles
  • No Name, CO (unincorporated)269 people, 12 miles
  • Redstone, CO (unincorporated)144 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.