Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,985, settled in 1880. 4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Colorado town.
Salida grades A− overall, 40th among Colorado's 158 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 89% of Colorado towns on state tests and graduation and residents are healthier than 88% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 45% of working residents work locally in Salida, above both Colorado’s towns (7.5%) and U.S. towns (8%). Salida is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. Salida has 16 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Manhattan Hotel and F Street Bridge.
Where Salida beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 2,586 in 1890, 5,666 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1882.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Salida is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Salida, 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 Salida.
Salida has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and fares better on crime within Colorado than nationally, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Colorado (mostly inland flooding).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of Colorado towns, with expected losses of about $534 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
No town among the 159 in Colorado we compare has a higher FEMA risk score than Salida. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Salida since 1995.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Salida School District No. R-32. The largest public high school is Salida High School, with 409 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longfellow Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 449 | A |
| Salida High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 409 | A− |
| Crest AcademyTop results in townGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 60 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
Within Colorado it is less healthy than 56% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar.
29% of Salida adults sleep under 7 hours. Salida beats the Colorado average on 4 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 14% of Salida adults report frequent mental distress.
| Salida | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 26% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 71% | 79% |
| What stands out | Salida | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.9% | 11.1% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 15.7% | 19% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.9% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
4.2 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The trail density in Salida is 1.5 miles per square mile.
| Salida | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.2% | 6.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Alpine Park | 0.2 mi | 3 |
| 2. Riverside Park | 0.1 mi | 3 |
| 3. Thonhoff Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 8.5 years of the county’s $84K median household income, the typical home (about $717K) costs more against local pay than in 85% of Colorado towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living.
The typical Salida home is worth about $717,000, up 0.6% in a year, 35% above the Colorado typical home. Salida’s median rent is $1,292 a month.
| Salida | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,292 a month | $1,812 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 11.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 83% of Colorado’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 63 to 36 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Among 93 Colorado towns, just 9 have a lower property crime rate than Salida.
| Salida | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.4 per 1,000 residents | 15.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Salida weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 112 days, shorter than in 98% of U.S. towns.
Salida has cold, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 10° and about 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (25% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (16% statewide). 53% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Salida. Salida has grown 5.1% since 2020, to 5,985 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Salida | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 53% | 44% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 17% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 15% | 18% |
| Median age | 44.1 years | 38.3 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.1 points. Across Colorado, 49.3% of residents are women.
| Salida | CO | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.9% | 10.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.1% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.8% | 15.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 18% | 14.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.7% | 11.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.3% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.9% | 5.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.9% | 7.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.4% | 19.7% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.3% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 4.9% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 32.9% | 28.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.5% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The average commute for its 2,859 working residents takes 16.8 minutes, against 25.2 across Colorado. Jobs based here grew from 2,433 in 2013 to 3,766.
Since 2013, Salida has added 1,333 jobs, to 3,766 in 2023. The top destinations are Denver (6%), Colorado Springs (4%) and Poncha Springs (3%). Half commute less than 2 miles.
| Salida | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Salida; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Salida residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Colorado.
16 places in Salida on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Colorado, United States
Salida ( sə-LY-də; Spanish pronunciation: [saˈliða], 'exit') is the statutory city that is the county seat of and the most populous municipality in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,666 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Salida grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #40 of 158 in Colorado. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and A for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 8.5 years of the area's median household income ($84,132 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
