Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 15,738 people, lies in Colorado.
Some subjects shine; others lag. Its best grade is for health (A): residents are healthier than 94% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. At B overall, Black Forest ranks 71st of 158 in Colorado. Set against the rest, it does better than 63% of U.S. towns. It also does well on schools: its schools outperform 78% of the state's. What counts against it is cost of living (C−): the typical home is worth about $856K, 9.5 years of the Colorado Springs metro’s $90K median household income. Hazard risk is weaker too (D): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than just over four fifths of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top. This Colorado town has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Black Forest School and Taylor Memorial Chapel.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Black Forest beats most towns.
13,116 counted in 2010 and 15,097 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Black Forest is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,372 in 1980, 15,097 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 4 maps from 1940 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Black Forest. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi MountainPikes Peak
Big draw26 mi LandmarkNorth American Aerospace Defense Command
16 mi Park & preserveGarden of the Gods
10 mi Stadium & arenaFalcon Stadium
18 mi Stadium & arenaWeidner Field
25 mi MountainCheyenne MountainPikes Peak: David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0 · North American Aerospace Defense Command: Unknown, Public domain · Garden of the Gods: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Falcon Stadium: David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Weidner Field: KM Newnham, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Cheyenne Mountain: Jimmy from Grand Junction, CO, CC BY-SA 2.0
Black Forest is unincorporated, so El Paso 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 Black Forest.
Black Forest gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Colorado (mostly wildfires) and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Colorado.
Its widest gap with Colorado is no health insurance: 5.1% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 11.1% statewide. Within Colorado it is healthier than 68% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar.
Among adults in Black Forest, 12% report frequent physical distress, close to Colorado’s towns (12%) and below U.S. towns (14%). Only 7 of the 159 Colorado towns we compare have a lower share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Black Forest. 15% of Black Forest adults report frequent mental distress. On the CDC’s 26 measures, Black Forest is ahead of Colorado on 10 and behind on 4.
| Black Forest | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Black Forest | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.1% | 11.1% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.4% | 9.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.8% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Public schools: Lewis-Palmer Consolidated School District No. 38 in the co. The largest public high school is Monument Charter Academy Secondary School, with 541 students. Its three schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edith Wolford Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 372 | B+ |
| Monument Charter Academy Secondary SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 541 | B− |
| Ray E Kilmer Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 300 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 86% of Colorado towns, with expected losses of about $708 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Black Forest’s FEMA risk score is 81 of 100. 56% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from wildfires, followed by inland flooding at 24%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Black Forest has 1,836 jobs for its 6,247 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Among working residents in Black Forest, 3.9% work locally, where Colorado’s towns sit at 7.8% and U.S. towns at 8%. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Black Forest dropped by 342, to 1,836. The middle household income for Black Forest comes to $145,000. The top destinations are Colorado Springs (51%), Denver (7%) and Aurora (3%).
| Black Forest | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 29% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $145,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5% | 8.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Monument weather station, 10 miles away, records that 121 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 99% of U.S. towns.
The July high in Black Forest is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For Black Forest, the concentration of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile. There are 31 miles of trail across 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Winsome Open Space, at 175 acres.
| Black Forest | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Winsome Open Space | 0.8 mi | 175 |
| 2. Wildwood Village Park | — | 17 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 9.5 years of the Colorado Springs metro’s $90K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 90% of Colorado towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
Among 159 Colorado towns, just 6 have a higher share of homes lived in by their owners than Black Forest. The median sale price was $1,001,000 in September 2026. A home in Black Forest typically sold within 63 days of listing.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Black Forest
About 5 of every 100 Black Forest residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
Where Black Forest’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Black Forest on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in Colorado, US
Black Forest is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the Black Forest CDP was 15,097 at the United States Census 2020. Both the Colorado Springs post office (Zip Code 80908) and the Elbert post office (Zip Code 80106) serve the area. The Black Forest is named for a dense stand of Ponderosa Pine in the area. In 2006, residents voted against a proposal to incorporate as a city.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Black Forest.
| Town | CO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Forest | #71 | B | C− | — | A− | A |
| Colorado Springs | #138 | C− | C | D | C | A− |
Black Forest reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Black Forest with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Black Forest grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #71 of 158 in Colorado. It grades A for health and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $856,000, 62% 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−.
