Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Alamosa earns a D, 148th among Colorado's 158 graded towns, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its police reported 78 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 98% of U.S. towns. The median household income is $50K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: natural-hazard risk is low. 45% of working residents work locally in Alamosa, where Colorado’s towns sit at 7.5% and U.S. towns at 8%. Alamosa is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Alamosa is home to Adams State University.
Where Alamosa beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 802 in 1880, 9,806 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1883 and a map from 1966 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Alamosa is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Alamosa, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Alamosa.
Alamosa carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Colorado (mostly inland flooding), has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Reported crimes fell from 638 to 431 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Alamosa’s violent crime rate is 7.9 per 1,000 residents. Alamosa reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 98% report less. Alamosa’s property crime rate is 35.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Alamosa | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 35.5 per 1,000 residents | 15.2 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Alamosa School District No. Re-11J. The largest public high school is Alamosa High School, with 568 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alamosa Elementary School 3-5Largest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 473 | B− |
| Alamosa High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 568 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 99% of Colorado towns; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Alamosa is 2 of 100. Since 1979, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Alamosa.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Values rose 2.3% in the past year while the Colorado typical home fell 1.3%. Home values rose 33% in five years, to about $312K, against 6% across Colorado.
The typical Alamosa home is worth about $312,000, 41% below the Colorado typical home. 44% of households own their home in Alamosa. Among 151 Colorado towns, just 6 have a lower median rent than Alamosa.
| Alamosa | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 44% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $837 a month | $1,812 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
12 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Alamosa Riparian Park, 147 acres with 3.2 miles of trail.
| Alamosa | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.8% | 6.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Alamosa Riparian Park | 3.2 mi | 147 |
| 2. "The Wilderness" | 1.1 mi | 13 |
| 3. Cole Park | 0.8 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Alamosa 1e weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 108 days, shorter than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Alamosa has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 3° and about 30 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 3,580 working residents takes 14.1 minutes, against 25.2 across Colorado.
Among 159 Colorado towns, just 4 have a lower median household income than Alamosa. 4.3% of Alamosa workers work from home. Jobs based in Alamosa grew to 5,270 in 2023, 690 more than in 2013.
| Alamosa | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 4.3% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 5,683 U.S. towns with household incomes like Alamosa’s, it is healthier than 93%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within Colorado it is less healthy than 82% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar.
Alamosa beats the Colorado average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 10.
| Alamosa | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 71% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 15% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Alamosa | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.1% | 7.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 19.2% | 11.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Alamosa
About 11 of every 100 Alamosa residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Colorado.
9 places in Alamosa on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Alamosa.
Home rule city and seat of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States
Alamosa is the home rule city that is the county seat of, and the most populous municipality in, Alamosa County, Colorado United States. Alamosa is located along the Rio Grande. The city population was 9,806 in the 2020 United States census. The city is the commercial center of the San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado, and is the home of Adams State University. Alamosa is the primary city of the Alamosa, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Alamosa.
| Town | CO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alamosa | #148 | D | C+ | D− | C | B |
| Alamosa East | — | — | C− | — | C | B− |
Alamosa East has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Alamosa East reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Alamosa with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Alamosa grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #148 of 158 in Colorado. It grades B for health, D− for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 6.1 years of the area's median household income ($51,237 across the Alamosa, CO area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
14 notable people were born here, including Ken Salazar and John Salazar.
