Living in Monument, Colorado: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.7% above the U.S. average in the Colorado Springs metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood24 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 12 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town9 public schools: 5 elementary, 1 middle, 2 high schools and 1 other.
A hospital close byUCHEALTH Pikes Peak Regional Hospital in Woodland Park, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 48 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 Monument 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

Monument runs into the built-up area around Colorado Springs (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.

Boom town. The population is up 33% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

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: $636,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 2.7%El Paso County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,929 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $128,816U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 76%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,667 a yearColorado: $2,602
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 36%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 100.7U.S. average = 100 (the Colorado Springs 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 Colorado Springs metro area, not Monument 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: 13,8132020: 10,422
Median age: 38.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 58%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 13%U.S.: 6%
College students: 7%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 (22%); professional and business services (16%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 25%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: UCHEALTH Pikes Peak Regional Hospital, Woodland Park, CO, about 14 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Centura Health-Penrose St. Francis Health Services, Colorado Springs, CO, about 15 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 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

9 public schools in Monument, run by Lewis-Palmer Consolidated School District No. 38 in the co and Academy School District No. 20 in the county of El Paso an.

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: 87%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: 16°F
July average high: 82°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 7 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 184 a year
Rain and melted snow: 22.5 inches a year
Snow: 121 inches a year
Elevation: 7,002 feet

Weather station: Monument (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

UCHEALTH Pikes Peak Regional HospitalEmergency room14

Colorado Springs, COCity of 495,00015

Denver, COMetro of 3.1 million48

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: UCHEALTH Pikes Peak Regional Hospital, Colorado Springs, Denver.

El Paso 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument24 miles

Read about Monument's history on Wikipedia.

Know Monument?

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

Woodmoor, CO8,900 people, 2 miles
Gleneagle, CO6,400 people, 3 miles
Palmer Lake, CO2,600 people, 5 miles
Black Forest, CO15,700 people, 9 miles
Woodland Park, CO8,000 people, 13 miles
Manitou Springs, CO4,600 people, 15 miles

Smaller places

Larkspur, CO219 people, 11 miles
Cascade-Chipita Park, CO (unincorporated)1,412 people, 12 miles
Green Mountain Falls, CO601 people, 13 miles
Perry Park, CO (unincorporated)1,570 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.