Best PlacesKit Carson County, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Kit Carson 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.
Kit Carson County ranks 1,506th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Kit Carson 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.
Kit Carson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kit Carson County ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of counties
- Short commute16.9 minutes each way, better than 91% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of counties
Where Kit Carson County ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 9% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Kit Carson County
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kit Carson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,542, 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 Kit Carson County's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 Kit Carson County
Kit Carson County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Kit Carson County.
Who works in Kit Carson County, and how
Work in Kit Carson County centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Kit Carson County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Kit Carson County.
Is Kit Carson County growing, and who is moving in?
Kit Carson County has lost about 12% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Towner County, ND.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Kit Carson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Kit Carson County, month by month
Kit Carson County sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 29° | 15° |
| April | 69° | 50° | 33° |
| July | 93° | 76° | 60° |
| October | 72° | 52° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Kit Carson County
Denver International sits about 124 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 Kit Carson County
Schools across Kit Carson County average a D+, better than 9% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Stratton Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Burlington Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Idalia Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stratton Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Burlington Middle SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top high schools
- Arickaree Undivided High SchoolC · 30% proficient
- Stratton Senior High SchoolC · 30% proficient
- Idalia Junior-senior High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kit Carson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kit Carson 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 Kit Carson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Kit Carson County
Is Kit Carson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kit Carson County ranks 1,506th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on clean air, short commutes, and walkability, and lowest on state finances and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kit Carson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $240,355. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $70,542 median income, cost of living beats 76% of counties.
Is Kit Carson County safe?
Kit Carson County is safer than 14% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $683 per resident a year.
Compare Kit Carson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kit Carson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kit Carson 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.
Kit Carson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kit Carson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kit Carson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kit Carson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kit Carson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kit Carson 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.