Best PlacesBaca County, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Baca County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Baca County ranks 2,302nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Baca County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Baca County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Baca County ranks high
- Short commute12.2 minutes each way, better than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 153 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of counties
- QuietBetter than 92% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of counties
Where Baca County ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 3% of counties
- Household income$46,392 median, better than only 4% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of counties
- School gradeD, better than only 7% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Baca County
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Baca County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $46,392, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Baca County's effective rate of 0.41%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Baca County
Baca County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Baca County.
Who works in Baca County, and how
Work in Baca County centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Baca County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Baca County.
Is Baca County growing, and who is moving in?
Baca County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Moore County, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Baca County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Baca County, month by month
Baca County sees roughly 153 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 32° | 17° |
| April | 72° | 52° | 35° |
| July | 94° | 77° | 61° |
| October | 74° | 54° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Baca County
The nearest airport, Liberal Mid-America Regional, is about 89 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 208 miles away.
The best schools in and around Baca County
Schools across Baca County average a D, better than 7% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Walsh Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Campo Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Vilas Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Elkhart Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Walsh High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Campo Undivided High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Springfield Junior/senior High SchoolF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Baca County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Baca County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Baca County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Baca County
Is Baca County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Baca County ranks 2,302nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, clean air, and the weather, and lowest on tree cover and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Baca County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $137,579. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $46,392 median income, cost of living beats 9% of counties.
Is Baca County safe?
Baca County is safer than 16% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $673 per resident a year.
Compare Baca County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Baca County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Baca County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Baca County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Baca County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Baca County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Baca County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Baca County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Baca County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.