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Telluride, Colorado

Telluride is a tourist town of about 2,500 people in San Miguel County, Colorado, about 8,800 feet above sea level. It's the county seat. It has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Denver, is about 202 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist townCounty seat

Population
2,454
down 6.2% since 2020
Household income
$102,405
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Colorado
97.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
37 miles
Montrose, CO
To Denver
202 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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Telluride to say.
  • A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMontrose Regional Health in Montrose, about 37 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 202 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 Telluride 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

Tourist town. About 30% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

Worth a closer look

Telluride has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

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 rent, with utilities
$3,056 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$102,405U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
85%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940
10%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
30%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. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Colorado outside metro areas, not Telluride 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
2,4542020: 2,617
Median age
48.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
86%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 (18%); professional and business services (18%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
6 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
17%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
1%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Montrose Regional Health, Montrose, CO, about 37 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 Telluride, run by Telluride School District No. R-1.

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
67%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
100%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
0°F
July average high
77°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
249 a year
Rain and melted snow
20.4 inches a year
Snow
131 inches a year
Elevation
8,751 feet

Weather station: Telluride 4WNW (3 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: Montrose Regional Health, Grand Junction, Denver.

San Miguel County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Telluride 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:

  • Curecanti National Recreation Area37 miles
  • Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park40 miles
  • Mesa Verde National Park52 miles

Read about Telluride's history on Wikipedia.

Know Telluride?

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

  • Ophir, CO185 people, 6 miles
  • Ouray, CO929 people, 10 miles
  • Silverton, CO721 people, 12 miles
  • Portland, CO (unincorporated)125 people, 12 miles
  • Placerville, CO (unincorporated)333 people, 13 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.