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Arboles, Colorado
Colorado›Archuleta County

ArbolesCO

With 389 residents, this town was settled in 1882.

Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0
Photo of Arboles

Arboles, CO · Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0 · Source ↗

Is Arboles a good place to live?

Arboles’ age of the median resident is 54.7 years, where Colorado’s towns sit at 38.3 years and U.S. towns at 40.5 years. Among 160 Colorado towns, just one has a lower typical household income than Arboles. 34% of the land in Arboles is conserved, where Colorado’s towns sit at 6.9% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Arboles has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.

Small town

389 people, and everyone knows the way

In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.

Nearby towns
Getting set up

Moving to Arboles: who provides what

Arboles is unincorporated, so Archuleta County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerLa Plata Electric Assn18.3¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterPiedra Park Md1 health-based violation in 5 years · EPAEPA
InternetProviders and speedsData pending · D4
Trash & county servicesArchuleta CountyArchuleta County provides services here
SchoolsIgnacio School District 11-JTWhich school depends on your addressNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Colorado you can register online until 8 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 8 days before).vote.gov
Who runs elections hereArchuleta County Clerk and RecorderArchuleta County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2025
ZIP codes81121, 8113781121 92% · 81137 8%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Arboles.

Outdoors

Protected land: nearly a third of Arboles

5.7 miles of trail. For Arboles, the density of trails is 0.9 miles per square mile.

33.7%conserved
33.7%
conserved · 1,327 of 3,934 acres
5.7 mi
of trails · 0.9 per sq mi

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

Natural hazards

Top of a very high hazard risk in Arboles: inland flooding

FEMA puts 57% of Arboles’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 29% to wildfires. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in just over four fifths of U.S. communities.

82risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
82Very high riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingWildfireAvalanches

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Work & commute

Most of Arboles’ workers head elsewhere: there are 0.1 jobs for each of them

Just 1% of Arboles’s working residents have a job in town. Arboles’ mean commuting time stands at 35 minutes. The median commute is under 28 miles. In Arboles, 6.2% of residents live below the poverty line.

1%work in town
ArbolesColorado townsU.S. towns
Average trip to work35 minutes25 minutes25 minutes
Working residents who work in town1%7.7%8%
Below the poverty line6.2%8.4%9.6%

Where working residents work

In Arboles1%
Pagosa Springs32%
Durango9%
Ignacio5%
Denver3%
28 mi
median commute distance
10
jobs based in Arboles
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

Expect snowy winters and hot summers in Arboles

In Arboles, the peak summer temperature is 91°F.

56″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter16–45°
Spring32–67°
Summer52–89°
Fall34–68°
Sep 22
typical first frost
Jun 9
typical last frost
+1.6°
vs. the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Health

Compared with most of Colorado and the rest of the country, more of Arboles’ adults have diabetes

For adults in Arboles, the share who report frequent mental distress is 15%. Only one of the 160 Colorado towns we compare has a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Arboles. On the CDC’s 26 measures, Arboles is ahead of Colorado on 6 and behind on 14.

ArbolesColorado townsU.S. towns
Binge drink (CDC PLACES)13%18%16%
Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES)17%12%14%
Diabetes (CDC PLACES)15%8.4%12%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)40%27%35%
26 measures vs. Colorado
6 better6 too close to call14 worse
What stands outArbolesCO
Fewer binge drinkers12.7%19%
Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth7.3%9.2%
More adults with COPD10.1%5.3%
Pagosa Springs Medical Center
24.9 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: primary care, mental health

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Housing

A home in Arboles sells for about $226K at the median

Among households in Arboles, 89% live in a home they own.

$226Kmedian sale price
0
homes sold in September

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Arboles

16pages on Arboles
After high school

Colleges nearby

None within 15 miles of Arboles; the nearest are

A commuter town

99% of working residents leave Arboles for work

Where Arboles’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

32% → Pagosa Springs Pagosa Springs 32% 9% → Durango Durango 9% 5% → Ignacio Ignacio 5% 3% → Denver Denver 3% 2% → Cortez Cortez 2% 2% → Farmington Farmington 2% Arboles · 1% stay
10jobs based in Arboles
1%of working residents work in town
28 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

About Arboles

Census-designated place in Archuleta County, Colorado, United States

Arboles is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in southwestern Archuleta County, Colorado, United States. At the United States Census 2020, the population of the Arboles CDP was 308. The town's name means "trees" in Spanish. The Arboles post office has the ZIP code 81121.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
6.2 sq mi
Elevation
6,280 ft
ZIP code
81121
Area code
970

Questions about Arboles

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Arboles, CO a good place to live?

Arboles has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.