Best PlacesSaguache County, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Saguache 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.
Saguache County ranks 2,137th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Saguache 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.
Saguache County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Saguache County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 175 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- QuietBetter than 92% of counties
- Short commute17.5 minutes each way, better than 89% of counties
Where Saguache County ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- School gradeD, better than only 4% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of counties
- Household income$55,446 median, better than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Saguache County
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Saguache County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $55,446; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Saguache County's effective rate of 0.44%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Saguache County
Saguache 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 Saguache County.
Who works in Saguache County, and how
Work in Saguache County centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Saguache County
Saguache County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Saguache County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Saguache County growing, and who is moving in?
Saguache County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Alamosa County, CO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Saguache County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Saguache County, month by month
Saguache County sees roughly 175 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 22° | 11° |
| April | 59° | 43° | 29° |
| July | 82° | 66° | 51° |
| October | 62° | 46° | 32° |
Flying in and out of Saguache County
The nearest airport, San Luis Valley Regional/Bergman Field, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 152 miles away.
The best schools in and around Saguache County
Schools across Saguache County average a D, better than 4% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Longfellow Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Crested Butte Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Sangre De Cristo Elementary SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top middle schools
- Salida Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Gunnison Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- Custer Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Gunnison High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Center High SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Saguache County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Saguache 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 Saguache County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Saguache County
Is Saguache County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Saguache County ranks 2,137th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, heat safety, and low disaster risk, and lowest on crime and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Saguache County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $227,384. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $55,446 median income, cost of living beats 26% of counties.
Is Saguache County safe?
Saguache County is safer than 3% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,054 per resident a year.
Compare Saguache County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Saguache County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Saguache 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.
Saguache County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Saguache County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Saguache County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Saguache County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Saguache County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Saguache 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.