Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Colorado.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Monument grades B+ overall, ranked 63rd of 158 in Colorado. Its public schools beat 95% of Colorado towns on state tests and graduation. Residents are healthier than 94% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $129K. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $744K, 8.3 years of the Colorado Springs metro’s $90K median household income. 58% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Monument, above both the Colorado town median (44%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 70% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top. The biggest park or preserve is Protected Habitat Open Space, at 62 acres.
Where Monument beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek Elementary School | PK–6 | 869 |
| St. Peter Catholic School | PK–8 | 217 |
| Education reEnvisioned School | K–12 | 59 |
Lewis, Inez Johnson, School5,530 counted in 2010 and 10,399 in 2020; an estimated 13,813 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 32.9% since 2020, after 88% 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 Monument is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 125 in 1880, a low of 125 in 1880, 10,399 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 4 maps from 1954 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Monument. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi MountainPikes Peak
Big draw26 mi LandmarkNorth American Aerospace Defense Command
5 mi Stadium & arenaFalcon Stadium
14 mi Park & preserveGarden of the Gods
17 mi Stadium & arenaWeidner Field
23 mi MountainCheyenne MountainPikes Peak: David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0 · North American Aerospace Defense Command: Unknown, Public domain · Falcon Stadium: David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Garden of the Gods: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Weidner Field: KM Newnham, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Cheyenne Mountain: Jimmy from Grand Junction, CO, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Monument, 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 Monument.
Monument has schools in the top 5% of Colorado and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Colorado.
Its A+ ranks #2 of the 159 Colorado towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $744K.
Its public schools are run by Lewis-Palmer Consolidated School District No. 38 in the co. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 869 | A |
| Education reEnvisioned SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 59 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
Within Colorado it is healthier than 68% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Colorado is no health insurance: 5.8% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 11.1% statewide.
15% of Monument adults get no exercise outside work. Monument beats the Colorado average on 9 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 7.7% of Monument adults have diabetes.
| Monument | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 11% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.7% | 8.5% | 12% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 71% | 79% |
| What stands out | Monument | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults in fair or poor health | 12.7% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 8.3 years of the Colorado Springs metro’s $90K median household income, the typical home (about $744K) costs more against local pay than in 84% of Colorado towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
Monument’s median rent is $1,929 a month. The typical Monument home is worth about $744,000, down 1.1% in a year, 41% above the Colorado typical home.
| Monument | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,929 a month | $1,807 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
One flood insurance claim has been paid in Monument since 2015.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Monument weather station records that 121 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Monument has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. The July high in Monument is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Monument has about as many jobs (3,846) as working residents, but only 249 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 1,887 in 2013 to 3,846.
Most working residents leave Monument for work: only 6% work in town. 25% of workers work from home in Monument. Since 2013, Monument has added 1,959 jobs, to 3,846 in 2023.
| Monument | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $129,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.7% | 8.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
5.3 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. Among 154 Colorado towns, just 10 have a lower share of conserved land than Monument.
| Monument | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Protected Habitat Open Space | — | 62 |
| 2. Sanctuary Pointe Park | — | 24 |
| 3. Dirty Woman Creek Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Monument reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 58% report less. Within Colorado, it does better than 67% of towns.
| Monument | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12 per 1,000 residents | 15.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
3 within 15 miles of the center of Monument
About 7 of every 100 Monument residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
3 notable people were born in Monument.
Town in Colorado, United States
Monument is a home rule town situated at the base of the Rampart Range in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Monument is one of the three communities that make up the Tri-Lakes area, along with Palmer Lake and Woodmoor. Monument is bordered by Pike National Forest on the west, Colorado Springs and the United States Air Force Academy to the south, Bald Mountain, True Mountain, and Spruce Mountain to the north, and Black Forest and rolling plains to the east. Monument was first settled as a stop along the Rio Grande Railroad in 1872, and the area was incorporated as a town called Henry's Station in 1879, but the name was later changed to Monument. The town population was 10,399 at the 2…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Monument.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B+; Palmer Lake (A−) is closest.
| Town | CO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monument | #63 | B+ | D | C+ | A+ | A |
| Woodmoor | #10 | A | C | — | A+ | A+ |
| Gleneagle | #26 | A | C− | — | A | A+ |
| Palmer Lake | #41 | A− | C+ | — | A+ | A |
Woodmoor, Gleneagle and Palmer Lake report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Monument with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Monument grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #63 of 158 in Colorado. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Colorado, it does better than 67% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
3 notable people were born here, including Jenny Shakeshaft and Frances McConnell-Mills.
