Best PlacesElbert County, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Elbert County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Elbert County ranks 114th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Elbert 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.
The best areas in Elbert County
The parts of Elbert County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Parker
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more residents vote.
Kiowa
More households have young kids and it is quieter.
Elizabeth
Fewer homes sit empty and streets are more walkable.
Scores across Elbert County run from about the 36th to the 94th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Elbert County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elbert County ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$135,502 median, better than 99% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 98% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of counties
Where Elbert County ranks low
- Short commute41.3 minutes each way, better than only 1% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,281 a month, better than only 7% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Elbert County
A household needs to earn about $175,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elbert County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $135,502, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Elbert County's effective rate of 0.46%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Elbert County
Elbert County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Elbert County.
Who works in Elbert County, and how
Work in Elbert County centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Elbert County
Elbert County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Elbert County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Elbert County growing, and who is moving in?
Elbert County has grown about 22% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Denver, CO metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Elbert County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Elbert County, month by month
Elbert County sees roughly 153 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 26° | 16° |
| April | 56° | 42° | 30° |
| July | 81° | 66° | 54° |
| October | 61° | 46° | 34° |
Flying in and out of Elbert County
Denver International sits about 34 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 40.1 million passengers in 2025, with 250 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Elbert County
Schools across Elbert County average a B−, better than 58% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Singing Hills Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Kiowa Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Peyton Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Simla Junior High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Sierra Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Elizabeth Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Chaparral High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Ponderosa High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Elizabeth High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elbert County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elbert 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 Elbert County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Elbert County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Elbert County
Is Elbert County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elbert County ranks 114th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on what local pay buys, civic engagement, and high incomes, and lowest on long commutes and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elbert County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $700,245. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $135,502 median income, cost of living beats 99% of counties.
Is Elbert County safe?
Yes, Elbert County is safer than 77% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $376 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Elbert County?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 38 with lows near 16. That works out to about 153 pleasant days a year, more than 93% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Elbert County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Parker, Kiowa, and Elizabeth. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Elbert County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elbert County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elbert 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.
Elbert County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elbert County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elbert County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elbert County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elbert County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elbert 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.