Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 83,815, settled in 1871.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Castle Rock grades A overall, ranked 17th of 158 in Colorado. Residents are healthier than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its public schools beat 92% of Colorado towns on state tests and graduation and the median household earns $145K. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $658K for a typical one and 6.2 times the Denver metro’s $106K median household income. Castle Rock’s trail density is 2.3 miles per square mile, above both Colorado’s towns (1.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Castle Rock has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Castle Rock Depot and Benjamin Hammar House. Among 93 Colorado towns, just 5 have a lower violent crime rate than Castle Rock.
Where Castle Rock beats most towns.
Census counts: 88 in 1880, 73,158 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 3 maps from 1940 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Castle Rock is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Castle Rock, 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 Castle Rock.
Castle Rock fares better on crime within Colorado than nationally, has home values still below their peak and has less no health insurance than most of Colorado.
Its widest gap with Colorado is no health insurance: 6.9% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 11.1% statewide.
6.4% of adults have diabetes in Castle Rock, below both the Colorado town median (8.5%) and the median of U.S. towns (12%). 25% of adults have high blood pressure in Castle Rock. Castle Rock beats the Colorado average on 12 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Castle Rock | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 6.4% | 8.5% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 27% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Castle Rock | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.9% | 11.1% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.9% | 9.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $658K.
Its public schools are run by Douglas County School District No. Re 1. Three of its 19 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspen View AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 1,018 | A− |
| Castle View High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,938 | A− |
| Clear Sky ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 627 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
79 miles of trail in 33 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Hidden Mesa Open Space, 631 acres with 4.2 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ridgeline Open Space | 10.9 mi | 363 |
| 2. Philip S. Miller Park | 9.8 mi | 283 |
| 3. Metzler Family Open Space | 4.3 mi | 116 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here grew from 17,887 in 2013 to 24,707.
Most working residents leave Castle Rock for work: only 16% work in town. 29% of Castle Rock workers work from home. Since 2013, Castle Rock has added 6,820 jobs, to 24,707 in 2023.
| Castle Rock | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 29% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $145,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 8.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 7.5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 11.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 84% of Colorado’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,027 to 829 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Castle Rock is 9.4 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical value, about $658K, is 8% below its June 2022 peak.
Castle Rock’s median rent is $2,000 a month. The typical Castle Rock home is worth about $658,000, down 1.1% in a year, 24% above the Colorado typical home.
| Castle Rock | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,000 a month | $1,807 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Castle Rock has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 18° and about 58 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 2015, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Castle Rock.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Castle Rock. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi MountainPikes Peak
Big draw27 mi TheatreRed Rocks Amphitheatre
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaEmpower Field at Mile High
27 mi Stadium & arenaBall Arena
27 mi Stadium & arenaCoors Field
20 mi LandmarkColumbine MemorialPikes Peak: David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Red 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 · Columbine Memorial: Denverjeffrey, CC BY 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Castle Rock
About 6 of every 100 Castle Rock residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
48,231 counted in 2010 and 73,158 in 2020; an estimated 83,815 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 14.6% since 2020, after 51.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
6 places in Castle Rock on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Castle Rock.
Home-rule town in Douglas County, Colorado, USA
Castle Rock is a home rule town that is the county seat of and the most-populous municipality in Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The town's population was 73,158 at the 2020 census, a 51.68% increase since the 2010 census. Castle Rock is the most-populous Colorado town (rather than city) and the 14th-most populous Colorado municipality. Castle Rock is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO metropolitan statistical area and the Front Range urban corridor. The town is named for the prominent, castle-shaped butte near the center of town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Castle Rock.
| Town | CO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Rock | #17 | A | C− | B+ | A | A+ |
| Castle Pines Village | #29 | A− | D | — | A | A+ |
| Castle Pines | #6 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| The Pinery | #34 | A− | C− | — | A | A+ |
Castle Pines Village, Castle Pines and The Pinery report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Castle Rock with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Castle Rock grades A overall, better than 89% of U.S. towns and #17 of 158 in Colorado. It grades A+ for health, B+ for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
7 notable people were born here, including Christian McCaffrey and Edward Seidensticker.
