Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 416, settled in 1875.
Lake City’s average trip to work is 7 minutes, against 25 minutes in Colorado’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Of the 160 Colorado towns we compare, none has a lower January low than Lake City. Lake City Historic District and Ute-Ulay Mine and Mill is on the National Register of Historic Places. Lake City has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1874.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lake City, 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 Lake City.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 87% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Hinsdale County School District No. Re-1. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake City Community SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 75 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts
Lake City has cold, snowy winters and cool summers, with very little rain. Lake City’s July high is 76°F, where Colorado’s towns sit at 89°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Lake City’s working residents works in town. The median household income in Lake City is $62,000. Since 2013, Lake City has added 22 jobs, to 194 in 2023.
| Lake City | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 34% | 7.7% | 8% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Lake City beats the Colorado average on 7 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 13% of Lake City adults report frequent mental distress. Among 160 Colorado towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Lake City.
| Lake City | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 26% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 36% |
| What stands out | Lake City | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.5% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults in frequent mental distress | 13% | 16% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.5% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
People 65 and older are 20% of residents (16% statewide). Lake City’s median age is 47.3 years. Lake City has lost 4.4% of its people since 2020, down to 416 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Lake City | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 47.3 years | 38.3 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 46% | 44% | 29% |
Somewhere between 42% and 64% women
The Census survey reached too few of Lake City’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±11 points. Across Colorado, 49.3% of residents are women.
| Lake City | CO | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.5% | 10.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.1% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15% | 15.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 5.7% | 14.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 20.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 11.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.2% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.2% | 5.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0% | 7.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 7.2% | 19.7% | 26% |
| Some college | 44.4% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 2.6% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.4% | 28.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.4% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 400, single groups can be off by several points
The typical Lake City home is worth about $488,000, about the same as a year ago, 8% below the Colorado typical home. 64% of households own their home in Lake City.
| Lake City | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,180 a month | $1,808 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.7 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memorial Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Lake City; the nearest are
About 8 of every 100 Lake City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Colorado.
Town in Colorado, United States
Lake City is a statutory town that is the county seat of, the most populous community in, and the only incorporated municipality in Hinsdale County, Colorado, United States. The population was 432 at the 2020 census. It is located in the San Juan Mountains in a valley formed by the convergence of Henson Creek and the headwaters of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River about seven miles (11 km) east of Uncompahgre Peak, a Colorado fourteener. Lake City is named after nearby Lake San Cristobal. This area lies at the southern end of the Colorado Mineral Belt and when rich mineral deposits were discovered the native population was pushed from their tribal lands and the town of Lake City was incor…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lake City has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
2 notable people were born here, including Charles Jasper Bell and Irene Aloha Wright.