Living in Dacono, Colorado: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.2% above the U.S. average in the Greeley metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood8 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 other. No public high school in town: the nearest is Frederick Senior High School, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close byCentura Health-St. Anthony North Health Campus in Westminster, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 21 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 Dacono 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: $482,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 5.7%Weld County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,827 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $104,559U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 85%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,041 a yearColorado: $2,602
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 48%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 100.2U.S. average = 100 (the Greeley metro area)

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 5.7% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Greeley metro area, not Dacono 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: 6,8442020: 6,352
Median age: 33.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 10%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 28%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: Schools, health care and social services (21%); construction (10%); professional and business services (10%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 32 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Centura Health-St. Anthony North Health Campus, Westminster, CO, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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

2 public schools in Dacono, run by Weld re-8 schools and St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J. The nearest public high school is Frederick Senior High School, about 3 miles away.

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: 95%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: 16°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 49 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 163 a year
Rain and melted snow: 14.1 inches a year
Snow: 34 inches a year
Elevation: 5,120 feet

Weather station: Brighton 3 SE (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

Centura Health-St. Anthony North Health CampusEmergency room8

Broomfield, COCity of 79,0009

Denver, COMetro of 3.1 million21

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: Centura Health-St. Anthony North Health Campus, Broomfield, Denver.

Weld County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Rocky Mountain National Park33 miles

Read about Dacono's history on Wikipedia.

Know Dacono?

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

Frederick, CO18,200 people, 3 miles
Erie, CO41,000 people, 5 miles
Firestone, CO20,000 people, 6 miles
Todd Creek, CO5,400 people, 7 miles
Fort Lupton, CO10,400 people, 8 miles
Lafayette, CO30,000 people, 9 miles

Smaller places

Aristocrat Ranchettes, CO (unincorporated)1,747 people, 10 miles
Paragon Estates, CO (unincorporated)667 people, 14 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.