Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,350.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Applewood grades A overall, 21st among Colorado's 158 graded towns. It has 12 miles of trail. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 96% of the country and the median household earns $131K. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $786K, 7.4 years of the Denver metro’s $106K median household income. 71% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Applewood, where Colorado’s towns sit at 44% and U.S. towns at 29%. Applewood has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Colorado Amphitheater and Ammunition Igloo. Applewood is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns.
Where Applewood beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Applewood is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,214 in 1970, a peak of 12,040 in 1980, 7,833 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1967 and 6 maps from 1939 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Applewood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi TheatreRed Rocks Amphitheatre
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaEmpower Field at Mile High
9 mi Stadium & arenaBall Arena
10 mi Stadium & arenaCoors Field
9 mi Theme parkElitch Gardens Theme Park
11 mi LandmarkColumbine MemorialRed Rocks Amphitheatre: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Empower Field at Mile High: Thelastcanadian, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ball Arena: KM Newnham, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Coors Field: Matt Kozlowski, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Elitch Gardens Theme Park: USGS, Public domain · Columbine Memorial: Denverjeffrey, CC BY 3.0
Applewood is unincorporated, so Jefferson County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Applewood.
Applewood trades workers with Denver and other neighbors and has less no health insurance than most of Colorado.
Applewood’s trail density is 2.6 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Welchester Tree Grant Park, 20 acres with 1.1 miles of trail.
| Applewood | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.6 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 21% | 6.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Welchester Tree Grant Park | 1.1 mi | 20 |
| 2. Applewood Park | 0.4 mi | 11 |
| 3. Tanglewood Sports Park | 0.3 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Jefferson County School District No. R-1. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manning Options SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 685 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Colorado is no health insurance: 6.7% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 11.1% statewide.
23% of adults have obesity in Applewood. Applewood beats the Colorado average on 7 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 13% of adults get no exercise outside work in Applewood.
| Applewood | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 26% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Applewood | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.7% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults who get no exercise | 12.6% | 17.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 2000, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Applewood.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Applewood has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 20° and about 58 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Applewood has about as many jobs (3,914) as working residents, but only 77 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 14,418 in 2013 to 3,914.
Most working residents leave Applewood for work: only 2% work in town. 28% of Applewood workers work from home. Since 2013, Applewood has lost 10,504 jobs, to 3,914 in 2023.
| Applewood | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 28% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $131,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.4% | 8.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.1% | 7.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median rent in Applewood is $2,211 a month.
| Applewood | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,211 a month | $1,807 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
14 within 15 miles of the center of Applewood
About 5 of every 100 Applewood residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
3 places in Applewood on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
Applewood is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the Applewood CDP was 7,833 at the 2020 United States census. The Golden post office (Zip code 80401) serves the area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Applewood.
| Town | CO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applewood | #21 | A | C− | — | A− | A+ |
| Lakewood | #97 | B− | C− | D− | A− | A |
| Wheat Ridge | #100 | B− | C | D | A− | A |
| Fairmount | #16 | A | C− | — | A− | A+ |
| West Pleasant View | #49 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| East Pleasant View | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Applewood, Fairmount and West Pleasant View report no FBI crime data of their own. East Pleasant View isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Applewood with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Applewood grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #21 of 158 in Colorado. It grades A+ for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $786,000, 49% above the Colorado typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
