Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Parker grades A− overall, ranked 48th of 158 in Colorado. It has 62 miles of trail. Residents are healthier than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $133K. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $673K, 6.4 years of the Denver metro’s $106K median household income. Parker’s trail density is 2.8 miles per square mile, above both Colorado’s towns (1.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Parker is home to Rocky Vista University. Parker's schools rank ahead of 92% of Colorado towns.
Where Parker beats most towns.
45,297 counted in 2010 and 58,512 in 2020; an estimated 65,985 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 13% since 2020, after 29.2% 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 Parker is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 290 in 1980, 58,512 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 5 maps from 1949 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Parker. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi TheatreRed Rocks Amphitheatre
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaEmpower Field at Mile High
21 mi Stadium & arenaBall Arena
21 mi Stadium & arenaCoors Field
18 mi LandmarkColumbine Memorial
22 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 · Columbine Memorial: Denverjeffrey, CC BY 3.0 · Dick's Sporting Goods Park: Tom Pratt, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Parker, 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 Parker.
Parker has home values still below their peak, has less no health insurance than most of Colorado and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
The biggest place to walk is Salisbury Equestrian and Sports Park, 84 acres with 3.3 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Salisbury Equestrian and Sports Park | 3.3 mi | 84 |
| 2. Ray J. Harvie Park | 2 mi | 71 |
| 3. O'Brien Memorial Park | 1.2 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $673K.
Its public schools are run by Douglas County School District No. Re 1. Three of its 18 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leman Classical AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,390 | B |
| Legend High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,206 | A |
| Challenge to Excellence Charter SchoolTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 551 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Colorado is no health insurance: 6.9% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 11.1% statewide.
24% of adults have high blood pressure in Parker, below both the Colorado town median (27%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). 6.1% of Parker adults have diabetes. Parker beats the Colorado average on 13 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Parker | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 27% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 6.1% | 8.5% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 12% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 36% |
| What stands out | Parker | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.9% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 3.6% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 13,135 in 2013 to 22,094.
Most working residents leave Parker for work: only 8% work in town. 26% of workers work from home in Parker. Since 2013, Parker has added 8,959 jobs, to 22,094 in 2023.
| Parker | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 26% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $133,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.4% | 8.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical value, about $673K, is 9% below its June 2022 peak.
Parker’s median rent is $2,096 a month. The typical Parker home is worth about $673,000, down 1.4% in a year, 27% above the Colorado typical home.
| Parker | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,096 a month | $1,807 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Parker has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 18° and about 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 1,272 to 841 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Colorado, it does better than 66% of towns.
| Parker | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.5 per 1,000 residents | 15.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 2023, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Parker.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
6 within 15 miles of the center of Parker
About 6 of every 100 Parker residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
Town in Colorado, United States
Parker is a home rule municipality in Douglas County, Colorado, United States. As a self-declared "town" under the home rule statutes, Parker is the second most populous town in the county; Castle Rock is the most populous (the community of Highlands Ranch, with a population of over 100,000, is an unincorporated CDP). In recent years, Parker has become a commuter town at the southeasternmost corner of the Denver metropolitan area. The population was 58,512 at the 2020 census. Parker is now the 19th most populous municipality in the state of Colorado.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Parker.
| Town | CO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parker | #48 | A− | C− | C+ | A | A+ |
| Stonegate | #7 | A | C− | — | A | A+ |
| Stepping Stone | #5 | A | C | — | A | A+ |
| Grand View Estates | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aurora | #122 | C | C | D− | B | B+ |
Stonegate and Stepping Stone report no FBI crime data of their own. Grand View Estates isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Parker with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Parker grades A− overall, better than 77% of U.S. towns and #48 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 C−.
Within Colorado, it does better than 66% 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 C−.
2 notable people were born here, including Cohlton Schultz and Hayden Dalton.
