Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,957, settled in 1882.
Elizabeth grades A overall, 13th of 158 graded towns in Colorado, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Residents are healthier than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 72% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top. Elizabeth’s average trip to work is 40 minutes, above both the Colorado town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Only 2 of the 93 Colorado towns we compare have a lower violent crime rate than Elizabeth. First National Bank of Elizabeth is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Elizabeth beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Running Creek Elementary School | K–5 | 292 |
| Elizabeth Middle School | 6–8 | 386 |
| Elizabeth High School | 9–12 | 668 |
1,358 counted in 2010 and 1,675 in 2020; an estimated 2,957 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 77.8% since 2020, after 23.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Elizabeth is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
![Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]](https://images.townratings.com/story/1817/0757a4fe778621640b73-l.jpg)
Census counts: 215 in 1900, 1,675 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1940 and 3 maps from 1939 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elizabeth, 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 Elizabeth.
Elizabeth fares better on crime within Colorado than nationally, trades workers with Denver and other neighbors and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Colorado.
Within Colorado it is healthier than 61% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar.
23% of Elizabeth adults have high blood pressure. Elizabeth beats the Colorado average on 9 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 21% of Elizabeth adults binge drink.
| Elizabeth | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 27% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 71% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 6.5% | 8.5% | 12% |
| What stands out | Elizabeth | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.6% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 6.5% | 8.6% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 65.7% | 69.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Elizabeth School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Elizabeth High School, with 668 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 386 | B |
| Elizabeth High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 668 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
At 8.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 93% of Colorado’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 31 to 19 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Elizabeth is 6.1 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical value, about $659K, is 7% below its June 2022 peak.
The typical Elizabeth home is worth about $659,000, down 3.6% in a year, 24% above the Colorado typical home. 94% of households own their home in Elizabeth.
| Elizabeth | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 94% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,808 a month | $1,811 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Elizabeth has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Elizabeth’s July high is 84°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 30% of residents (39% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 30% of residents (25% statewide). Elizabeth has grown 78% since 2020, to 2,957 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 47% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 46% across Colorado.
| Elizabeth | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 32.7 years | 38.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 44% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 25% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 15% | 18% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.5 points. Across Colorado, 49.3% of residents are women.
| Elizabeth | CO | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.9% | 10.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 22.5% | 15.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.8% | 14.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.4% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.1% | 11.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.4% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.7% | 5.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.7% | 7.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.1% | 19.7% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.2% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.2% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 37.6% | 28.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.1% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,000, single groups can be off by several points
Elizabeth has about as many jobs (1,176) as working residents, but only 70 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 39.5 minutes, against 25.2 across Colorado.
Most working residents leave Elizabeth for work: only 6% work in town. Since 2013, Elizabeth has added 166 jobs, to 1,176 in 2023. Only 9 of the 159 Colorado towns we compare have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Elizabeth.
| Elizabeth | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2% | 8.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $113,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 11% | 18% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.9% | 7.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Elizabeth | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bandt Park | 0.1 mi | 9 |
| 2. Gold Creek Valley Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
| 3. Floyd O Shepherd Memorial Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Elizabeth; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Elizabeth residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
Statutory town in Elbert County, Colorado, United States
Elizabeth is the statutory town that is the most populous municipality in Elbert County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,675 at the 2020 United States census, a +23.34% increase since the 2010 United States census. Elizabeth is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Elizabeth.
| Town | CO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth | #13 | A | C | A− | A− | A |
| Ponderosa Park | #84 | B | C | — | A− | A |
Ponderosa Park reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Elizabeth with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Elizabeth grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #13 of 158 in Colorado. It grades A for health, A− for safety and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 6.2 years of the area's median household income ($105,762 across the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, 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.