Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fort Lupton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 146th among Colorado's 158 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: homes are within reach, about $459K for a typical one, or 4.7 years of the Greeley metro’s $97K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: its police reported 27 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 74% of U.S. towns. Only 6 of Colorado’s 218 towns score lower on health. Ottesen Grain Company Feed Mill is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Fort Lupton beats most towns.
Where Fort Lupton’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 Fort Lupton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 113 in 1890, 7,955 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2013 and 4 maps from 1949 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fort Lupton, 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 Fort Lupton.
Fort Lupton has poverty well above the Colorado rate, but it scores below Brighton and its other neighbors on health and trails Firestone and its other neighbors on schools.
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C+, Firestone highest at A−.
Its public schools are run by the Weld re-8 schools. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Fort Lupton High School, with 721 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twombly Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 473 | D |
| Fort Lupton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 721 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 4,895 working residents takes 33.1 minutes, against 25.2 across Colorado.
Most working residents leave Fort Lupton for work: only 8% work in town. At 33 minutes, Fort Lupton’s average trip to work is against 25 minutes in Colorado’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. 18% of residents live below the poverty line in Fort Lupton.
| Fort Lupton | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 7.1% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $81,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 274 to 161 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Fort Lupton reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 74% report less. Within Colorado, it does better than 49% of towns. At 2.6 per 1,000 residents, Fort Lupton’s violent crime rate is near the Colorado town median (2.3) and above the median of U.S. towns (1.6).
| Fort Lupton | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.8 per 1,000 residents | 15.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its C, from Brighton (B+) to Firestone (A−).
38% of Fort Lupton adults have obesity. Only 8 of the 159 Colorado towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Fort Lupton. 31% of Fort Lupton adults have high blood pressure.
| Fort Lupton | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 67% | 71% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 15% | 19% |
| What stands out | Fort Lupton | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.2% | 7.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 22.1% | 11.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Fort Lupton has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Fort Lupton’s July high is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
11 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Fort Lupton is 0.8 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is South Platte Valley Historical Park, at 57 acres.
| Fort Lupton | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Community Center Park | 0.7 mi | 15 |
| 2. South Platte Valley Historical Park | — | 57 |
| 3. Railroad Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Fort Lupton home is worth about $459,000, down 1.8% in a year, 13% below the Colorado typical home.
| Fort Lupton | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,251 a month | $1,812 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 71% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fort Lupton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi TheatreRed Rocks Amphitheatre
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaEmpower Field at Mile High
26 mi Stadium & arenaBall Arena
25 mi Stadium & arenaCoors Field
40 mi National ParkRocky Mountain National Park4.2M visitors a year
20 mi Stadium & arenaDick's Sporting Goods ParkRed 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 · Rocky Mountain National Park: Charles M. Sauer -- Charlessauer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dick's Sporting Goods Park: Tom Pratt, CC BY 2.0
None within 15 miles of Fort Lupton; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Fort Lupton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Colorado.
Statutory town in Weld County, Colorado, United States
The City of Fort Lupton is a statutory city located in southern Weld County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 7,955 at the 2020 United States census. Fort Lupton is a part of the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Fort Lupton.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Brighton (C) is closest. Dacono next door grades higher for schools (A− to Fort Lupton’s C+) and lower for cost of living (C− to B−).
| Town | CO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Lupton | #146 | C− | B− | C | C+ | C |
| Dacono | #56 | B+ | C− | B | A− | B+ |
| Brighton | #121 | C | C− | D | B− | B+ |
| Firestone | #60 | B+ | D | B | A− | A− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Lupton grades C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #146 of 158 in Colorado. It grades C for health, C for safety and C+ for schools.
Within Colorado, it does better than 49% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
