Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Lyons costs more to live in than 93% of U.S. towns
Down 0.9% in a year, 41% above the Colorado typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Boulder, CO metro area ($104K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
Only 3 sales in September 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value is the steadier guide.
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Lyons’ area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($104K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 33% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 53% of renters.
In dollars
- $747Ktypical home, 41% above the Colorado typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $2,280a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 8.1 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$104K, Boulder-area income
- 23%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 33%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Lyons
Prices are 8% below their 2022 peak
The typical Lyons home peaked at $813K in July 2022 and is worth about $747K now. Colorado as a whole is 7% off its own peak. Over five years, Lyons is still up 6.3%. Price trend ↓
Mostly newer homes
Half of Lyons’ homes were built after 2000, against 1988 for Colorado as a whole. Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Lyons’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Lyons is more affordable than 7% of U.S. towns. Home prices pull the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Colorado: up 6.3% in five years, against 6.2% statewide (Zillow).
Up 6.3% in five years
About the same pace as Colorado (6.2%).
Show as a table
| January | Lyons | Colorado |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $449,000 | $336,000 |
| 2018 | $490,000 | $363,000 |
| 2019 | $521,000 | $386,000 |
| 2020 | $555,000 | $403,000 |
| 2021 | $619,000 | $440,000 |
| 2022 | $717,000 | $519,000 |
| 2023 | $780,000 | $544,000 |
| 2024 | $755,000 | $545,000 |
| 2025 | $772,000 | $551,000 |
| 2026 | $757,000 | $537,000 |
| September 2026 | $747,000 | $529,000 |
A typical Lyons home worth $440K in October 2016 is worth about $747K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A typical home costs 8.1 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Lyons’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $326K short of a typical Lyons home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,280 a month here, $2,020 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Lyons’s typical property tax (0.62% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,280
Renters already here pay a median of $1,981, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Boulder, CO MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
2 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 2 new homes in Lyons in 2025, all single-family houses. That's 1.1 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Colorado (6.9). Over the past 10 years, Lyons has permitted 62 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Lyons gained 176 residents while 59 new homes were permitted: about 3 new residents per new home, about the same as across Colorado (2.5).
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $930,000 |
| 2024 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $313,000 |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | 8 | $1.1 million |
| 2022 | 21 | 13 | 8 | $4.4 million |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $500,000 |
| 2018 | 10 | 6 | 4 | $2.3 million |
| 2017 | 10 | 6 | 4 | $2.8 million |
| 2016 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2015 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| 2014 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $2.8 million |
| 2013 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $815,000 |
| 2012 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $611,000 |
| 2011 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $407,000 |
| 2010 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2009 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $717,000 |
| 2008 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $2.2 million |
| 2007 | 52 | 52 | 0 | $15.4 million |
| 2006 | 58 | 52 | 6 | $15.6 million |
| 2005 | 67 | 49 | 18 | $12.6 million |
| 2004 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $3.5 million |
| 2003 | 7 | 5 | 2 | $1.3 million |
| 2002 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2001 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2000 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $3.4 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Colorado norm
The median bill is $5,283 (Colorado: $2,602), 0.62% of a home’s value a year, against 0.48% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
Lyons and its neighbors
One source per column.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyons | D | $747K | $845K | 0.62% | $2,280 |
Questions about the cost of living in Lyons
Is Lyons expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Lyons costs more than 93% of U.S. towns: a D for cost of living. The typical home costs 8.1 years of the median household income of the Boulder, CO metro area ($104K).
How much does a house cost in Lyons?
About $747K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 0.8% in a year. The Colorado typical home is $529K.
What salary do you need to live in Lyons?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $184,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $4,300 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $91,000.
How much is rent in Lyons?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,280 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,981 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Lyons?
The median bill is $5,283 a year, 0.62% of the median home value (Colorado: $2,602, 0.48%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Lyons going up?
No: down 0.8% in the past year and 6.3% in five years, against 6.2% across Colorado (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Lyons buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.