Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Colorado. The town, settled in 1878, counts 13,557 residents.
Trash & recyclingPlenty to like here, at a price. Its best grade is for schools: its schools outperform 97% of the state's. Steamboat Springs’s overall B+ puts it 58th of 158 in Colorado. Nationally, it does better than 70% of U.S. towns. Health is a strength too: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 96% of the country. The catch is cost of living — the typical home is worth about $1.3 million, 13.7 years of the Steamboat Springs area’s $95K median household income. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than nearly two thirds of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. This Colorado town has 11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Hahns Peak Schoolhouse and Steamboat Springs Depot.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Steamboat Springs beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Soda Creek Elementary School | PK–5 | 379 |
| Steamboat Springs High School | 9–12 | 871 |
| Yampa Valley High School | 9–12 | 32 |
| Widest gap | Steamboat Springs | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.7% | 11.1% |
Census counts: 1,227 in 1910, 13,224 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1896 and 2 maps from 1969 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Steamboat Springs is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Steamboat Springs, 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 Steamboat Springs.
Steamboat Springs has schools in the top 5% of Colorado, is a second-home town and draws workers from Craig and beyond.
At 13.7 years of the Steamboat Springs area’s $95K median household income, the typical home (about $1.31M) costs more against local pay than in 95% of Colorado towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. Values rose 4.6% in the past year while the Colorado typical home fell 1.3%.
A home in Steamboat Springs typically sold within 65 days of listing. Steamboat Springs’ typical rent stands at $2,017 a month, above both the Colorado town median ($1,807 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Home values are up 4.6% over the year to September 2026.
| Steamboat Springs | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,017 a month | $1,807 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
That grade ranks #1 of the 159 Colorado towns we grade for schools. It comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.31M.
Public schools: Steamboat Springs School District No. Re 2. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The largest public high school is Steamboat Springs High School, with 871 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soda Creek Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 379 | A |
| Steamboat Springs High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 871 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
Steamboat Springs’ concentration of trails stands at 3.2 miles per square mile. Trails total 31 miles in 12 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Emerald Park, 24 acres with 1 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Emerald Park | 1 mi | 24 |
| 2. Rotary Park | 0.5 mi | 12 |
| 3. River Creek Park | — | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Among adults in Steamboat Springs, 25% have high blood pressure, where Colorado’s towns sit at 27% and U.S. towns at 35%. The share of adults in Steamboat Springs who have obesity: 23%.
| Steamboat Springs | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 26% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 27% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Steamboat Springs | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.7% | 11.1% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.7% | 9.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
10,914 jobs are based in Steamboat Springs, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 14.3 minutes, against 25.2 across Colorado.
Among workers in Steamboat Springs, 23% do their job from home. Only 9 of the 159 Colorado towns we compare have a lower mean commuting time than Steamboat Springs. The median household income here is $105,000. Employers in Steamboat Springs added 1,608 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 10,914.
| Steamboat Springs | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 23% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.7% | 8.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $105,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Steamboat Springs weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 93 days, shorter than in 99% of U.S. towns. The Steamboat Springs weather station records that 185 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 100% of U.S. towns.
July afternoons reach 83° and January nights drop to 6°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
89% of Steamboat Springs’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by lightning at 6%. On expected storm and flood damage, Steamboat Springs sits above 65% of U.S. communities. Flood insurance has paid out on 11 claims here since 1978.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within Colorado, it does better than nearly two thirds of towns. For Steamboat Springs, the violent offense rate is 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Steamboat Springs | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10 per 1,000 residents | 15.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Steamboat Springs; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Steamboat Springs residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
Where Steamboat Springs’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
11 places in Steamboat Springs on the National Register of Historic Places.
23 notable people were born in Steamboat Springs.
City in Colorado, United States
Steamboat Springs is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the most populous municipality in Routt County, Colorado, United States. The population was 13,224 at the 2020 census. Steamboat Springs is the principal city of the Steamboat Springs Micropolitan Statistical Area, and it is the largest city in northwestern Colorado. The city is a winter ski resort destination, including the Steamboat Ski Resort on Mount Werner in the Park Range just east of the town and the much smaller Howelsen Hill Ski Area. Steamboat Springs has produced more athletes for the Winter Olympics than any other town in North America. Steamboat Springs – known colloquially as "The Boat" – is located …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Steamboat Springs grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #58 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 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 D.
23 notable people were born here, including Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane.
