Best PlacesHinsdale County, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hinsdale County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hinsdale County ranks 857th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hinsdale 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.
Hinsdale County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hinsdale County ranks high
- Short commute7.6 minutes each way, better than 99% of counties
- QuietBetter than 99% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of counties
Where Hinsdale County ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,265 a month, better than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hinsdale County
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hinsdale County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $75,972, 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 Hinsdale County's effective rate of 0.36%, 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 Hinsdale County
Hinsdale 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 Hinsdale County.
Who works in Hinsdale County, and how
Work in Hinsdale County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 55%
- Work from home 30%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in Hinsdale County
Hinsdale County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Hinsdale County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hinsdale County growing, and who is moving in?
Hinsdale County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Scurry County, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hinsdale County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hinsdale County, month by month
Hinsdale County sees roughly 138 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 25° | 18° |
| April | 51° | 40° | 31° |
| July | 76° | 63° | 53° |
| October | 57° | 45° | 36° |
Flying in and out of Hinsdale County
The nearest airport, Telluride Regional, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 191 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hinsdale County
Schools across Hinsdale County average a C, better than 42% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Pagosa Springs Elementary SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pagosa Springs Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Pagosa Springs High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hinsdale County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hinsdale 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 Hinsdale County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Hinsdale County
Is Hinsdale County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hinsdale County ranks 857th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, quiet, and heat safety, and lowest on cell coverage and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hinsdale County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $437,900. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $75,972 median income, cost of living beats 37% of counties.
Is Hinsdale County safe?
Hinsdale County is safer than 55% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $432 per resident a year.
Compare Hinsdale County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hinsdale County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hinsdale 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.
Hinsdale County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hinsdale County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hinsdale County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hinsdale County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hinsdale County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hinsdale 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.