Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Durango grades B+ overall, ranked 61st of 158 in Colorado. It has 103 miles of trail. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 91% of the country. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $754K, 8.8 years of the Durango area’s $86K median household income. 61% of working residents work locally in Durango, where Colorado’s towns sit at 7.5% and U.S. towns at 8%. Durango is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. Durango is home to Fort Lewis College.
Where Durango beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,726 in 1890, 19,071 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1874 and 3 maps from 1898 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Durango is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Durango, 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 Durango.
Durango draws workers from Bayfield and beyond, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Colorado (mostly inland flooding) and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Colorado.
Durango’s trail density is 5.2 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is BOR - Lake Nighthorse Recreation Area, at 1,852 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Horse Gulch | 23.7 mi | 1,281 |
| 2. Overend Mountain Park | 9.5 mi | 349 |
| 3. Twin Buttes | 7.9 mi | 579 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Durango School District No. 9-R. Three of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 452 | B+ |
| Durango High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,352 | A |
| Mountain Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 4–8 | Grades 4–8 | 302 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
16,312 jobs are based in Durango, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 14.3 minutes, against 25.2 across Colorado.
The average trip to work in Durango is 14 minutes. The top destinations are Denver (2%), Farmington (2%) and Cortez (2%). 13% of Durango residents live below the poverty line.
| Durango | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 15% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $79,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Colorado it is healthier than 56% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar.
20% of adults have obesity in Durango. Durango beats the Colorado average on 6 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 21% of adults binge drink in Durango.
| Durango | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 26% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 27% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 71% | 79% |
| What stands out | Durango | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with obesity | 19.8% | 26.1% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.8% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 82.8% | 85.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of Colorado towns, with expected losses of about $455 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1996, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Durango.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 8.8 years of the Durango area’s $86K median household income, the typical home (about $755K) costs more against local pay than in 87% of Colorado towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. Values rose 3.5% in the past year while the Colorado typical home fell 1.3%.
The typical Durango home is worth about $755,000, 43% above the Colorado typical home.
| Durango | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,636 a month | $1,812 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Durango has cold, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 12° and about 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1 within 15 miles of the center of Durango
About 14 of every 100 Durango residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Colorado.
22.5% of the town is conserved land, across 20 parks and preserves.
9 places in Durango on the National Register of Historic Places.
29 notable people were born in Durango.
City in Colorado, US
Durango is the home rule city and the county seat of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 19,071 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous city in the county. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Durango grades B+ overall, better than 68% of U.S. towns and #61 of 158 in Colorado. It grades A for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk 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−.
29 notable people were born here, including Stuart Roosa and Sepp Kuss.
