Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 2,346 residents, this town was settled in 1864.
The best of Coal Creek’s subject grades are an A+ for health and an A− for incomes and schools; the weakest is a D− for walkability. Coal Creek’s typical journey to work is 42 minutes, above both Colorado’s towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). On walkability, just 5 of Colorado’s 217 towns do worse. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top. Coal Creek’s concentration of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile, below the Colorado town median (1.3) and near the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Coal Creek has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Coal Creek beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Coal Creek’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Coal Creek is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,323 in 2000, 2,494 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2014 and 3 maps from 1906 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Coal Creek. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi TheatreRed Rocks Amphitheatre
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaEmpower Field at Mile High
22 mi Stadium & arenaBall Arena
21 mi National ParkRocky Mountain National Park4.2M visitors a year
23 mi Stadium & arenaCoors Field
9 mi Stadium & arenaFolsom FieldRed 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 · Rocky Mountain National Park: Charles M. Sauer -- Charlessauer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Coors Field: Matt Kozlowski, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Folsom Field: Thelastcanadian, CC BY-SA 4.0
Coal Creek is unincorporated, so Boulder 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 Coal Creek.
Nearly three quarters of adults had a checkup this year in Coal Creek. The town does better than the Colorado average on 10 of 26 CDC measures and worse on 3. Only 9 of the 160 Colorado towns we compare have a lower share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Coal Creek.
| Coal Creek | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 26% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Coal Creek | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.7% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults who get no exercise | 11.5% | 17.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Jefferson County School District No. R-1. 59 students attend Coal Creek’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Academy Coal Creek CanyonLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 59 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
59% of Coal Creek’s expected losses from natural hazards come from wildfires, followed by inland flooding at 15%. Among 160 Colorado towns, just 10 have a higher natural-hazard score from FEMA than Coal Creek.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For working residents in Coal Creek, the share who work locally is 1.2%. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in the town rose by 208, to 596. The town’s median household income stands at $134,000. The top destinations are Boulder (15%), Denver (15%) and Lakewood (7%).
| Coal Creek | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $134,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.2% | 7.7% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.4% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For Coal Creek, the typical July afternoon high is 77°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Coal Creek, 91% of households are owner-occupiers. Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home lost 2.9% of its value.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
4 within 15 miles of the center of Coal Creek
About 3 of every 100 Coal Creek residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Colorado.
Unincorporated community in Colorado, US
Coal Creek, commonly known as Coal Creek Canyon, is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in Jefferson, Boulder, and Gilpin counties, Colorado, United States. The population of the Coal Creek CDP was 2,494 at the United States Census 2020. The unincorporated community is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Greeley, CO Combined Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 5.7 years of the area's median household income ($103,994 across the Boulder, CO metro 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.
