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Holly Hills, Colorado

Holly Hills is an unincorporated community of about 2,600 people in Arapahoe County, Colorado, in the Denver area, about 5,500 feet above sea level. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 5.7 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 7 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Denver

Population
2,572
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$702,000
Arapahoe County prices up 2.7% since 2022
Household income
$122,391
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Denver area
105.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Denver, CO
To Denver
7 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 5.8% above the U.S. average in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 3 elementary and 1 other. No public high school in town: the nearest is Thomas Jefferson High School, about 1 mile away.
  • A hospital close byAdventhealth Porter in Denver, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 7 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 Holly Hills 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.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Holly Hills runs into the built-up area around Denver (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$702,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 2.7%Arapahoe County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$122,391U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
83%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,186 a yearColorado: $2,602
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
105.8U.S. average = 100 (the Denver-Aurora-Centennial 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 2.7% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area, not Holly Hills 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
2,572The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
43.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
25%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
68%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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 (24%); finance, insurance and real estate (15%); professional and business services (13%)
Unemployment rate
0%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
17%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
6%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Adventhealth Porter, Denver, CO, about 3 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

4 public schools in Holly Hills, run by Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county of Arapah and School District No. 1 in the county of Denver and State of C. The nearest public high school is Thomas Jefferson High School, about 1 mile 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
94%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
17°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
47 a year
Nights at or below freezing
172 a year
Rain and melted snow
15.8 inches a year
Snow
41 inches a year
Elevation
5,477 feet

Weather stations: Cherry Creek Dam (6 miles away) and Denver Water Dept (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

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: Adventhealth Porter, Centennial, Denver.

Arapahoe County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, 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 Park49 miles
  • Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument54 miles

Read about Holly Hills's history on Wikipedia.

Know Holly Hills?

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

  • Bow Mar, CO832 people, 7 miles
  • Foxfield, CO746 people, 9 miles
  • Grand View Estates, CO (unincorporated)567 people, 10 miles
  • North Washington, CO (unincorporated)294 people, 10 miles
  • Mountain View, CO517 people, 10 miles
  • East Pleasant View, CO (unincorporated)832 people, 13 miles
  • Louviers, CO (unincorporated)294 people, 14 miles
  • Aetna Estates, CO (unincorporated)1,010 people, 14 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.