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Idaho Springs, Colorado

Idaho Springs is a small town of about 1,800 people in Clear Creek County, Colorado, about 8,200 feet above sea level. It has grown about 2% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5 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 33 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,842
up 2.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$446,500
Clear Creek County prices up 2.9% since 2022
Household income
$89,436
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Denver area
105.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
20 miles
Lakewood, CO
To Denver
33 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 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood10 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 30.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Clear Creek High School, about 6 miles away.
  • A hospital close byOrthocolorado Hosp at St. Anthony Med Campus in Lakewood, about 20 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 33 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 Idaho Springs 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
$446,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 2.9%Clear Creek County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,548 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$89,436U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$1,847 a yearColorado: $2,602
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%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 2.9% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area, not Idaho Springs 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
1,8422020: 1,804
Median age
43.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%
College students
8%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
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%); government (10%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
25%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Orthocolorado Hosp at St. Anthony Med Campus, Lakewood, CO, about 20 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

1 public school in Idaho Springs, run by Clear Creek School District No. Re-1. The nearest public high school is Clear Creek High School, about 6 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 any internet subscription
87%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
77°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
210 a year
Rain and melted snow
18.3 inches a year
Snow
106 inches a year
Elevation
8,160 feet

Weather station: Georgetown (11 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: Orthocolorado Hosp at St. Anthony Med Campus, Arvada, Denver.

Clear Creek 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

9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Argo Tunnel and Mill, Echo Lake Park, the Idaho Springs Downtown Commercial District and Summit Lake Park.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Rocky Mountain National Park29 miles
  • Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument57 miles

Read about Idaho Springs's history on Wikipedia.

Know Idaho Springs?

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

  • Central, CO807 people, 3 miles
  • Blue Valley, CO (unincorporated)120 people, 3 miles
  • Black Hawk, CO120 people, 4 miles
  • Floyd Hill, CO (unincorporated)841 people, 4 miles
  • Downieville-Lawson-Dumont, CO (unincorporated)345 people, 6 miles
  • Pine Valley, CO (unincorporated)392 people, 6 miles
  • Echo Hills, CO (unincorporated)180 people, 7 miles
  • Upper Witter Gulch, CO (unincorporated)731 people, 7 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.