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Durango, Colorado

Durango is a small town of about 19,700 people in La Plata County, Colorado, about 6,500 feet above sea level. It's the county seat. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 8.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of a million people, Denver, is about 237 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
19,733
up 3.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$668,400
La Plata County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$78,602
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Colorado
97.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Mercy Regional Medical Center
To Denver
237 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 8.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Durango itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town10 public schools: 5 elementary, 3 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byMercy Regional Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 237 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 Durango 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
$668,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%La Plata County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,636 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$78,602U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
53%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,443 a yearColorado: $2,602
Homes built before 1940
14%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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Colorado outside metro areas, not Durango 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
19,7332020: 19,112
Median age
38.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
14%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
60%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
14%U.S.: 6%
College students
14%share of all residents

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 (26%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
14 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
13%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mercy Regional Medical Center, Durango, CO, in town. 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

10 public schools in Durango, run by Durango School District No. 9-R and State Charter School Institute.

Colleges in or next to town: Fort Lewis College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
93%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
13°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
14 a year
Nights at or below freezing
180 a year
Rain and melted snow
19.6 inches a year
Snow
64 inches a year
Elevation
6,544 feet

Weather station: Durango (2 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: 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

15 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Durango-Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad, the East Third Avenue Historic Residential District, the Main Avenue Historic District and the Ute Mountain Ute Mancos Canyon Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Mesa Verde National Park26 miles
  • Aztec Ruins National Monument30 miles
  • Yucca House National Monument44 miles
  • Hovenweep National Monument48 miles

Campus life. Check Fort Lewis College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Durango's history on Wikipedia.

Know Durango?

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

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.