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Ever wondered where in the country people are happiest? Better yet, what cities in your state have the secret sauce for happiness?
Just like where you work and what you do, where you live can have major implications for your quality of life. We set out to find the cities in Colorado where life is sweetest, the wages are high, and people aren’t wasting their lives away in cars,
The results? Happiness comes in small packages.
The result is this list of the best cities for :
- Cherry Hills Village, CO
- Stonegate, CO
- Castle Pines, CO
- Cherry Creek, CO
- Eagle, CO
- Superior, CO
- Highlands Ranch, CO
- Lone Tree, CO
- Greenwood Village, CO
- Erie, CO
These are the happiest places in Colorado. Keep reading to see what has everyone grinning so much.
How did we determined the happiest places to live in Colorado?
We turned happiness into a science and scoured the state to find the cities with all the ingredients for happiness:
- Being well educated (Population with at least a bachelor’s degree)
- Percent of households earning above $75,000
- Median home prices
- A short commute to work (Traffic = unhappiness)
- Having a family (Getting, and staying married, has a ton of happiness benefits, on average)
We examined over 109 cities, to find the cities that have all of the above in spades.
While some may be confused to see marriage rates included in our metrics, studies show that married people are typically happier than unmarried people. However, it is worth noting that marriage doesn’t cause happiness. In fact, people leaving a bad marriage experience spikes of happiness. However, a happy marriage and positive social interactions are important for mood and mental health.
Similarly, if you’re scratching your head to see $75,000 as the cut-off for happiness, blame Purdue University. Their study found that amount meets basic needs and frees people from the pitfalls of deep financial insecurity that cause unhappiness.
All of our data comes from the most recent American Community Survey.
Keep reading for more on why each of these 10 places is brimming with happiness—or hop to the bottom to see where your city landed on the list.
1. Cherry Hills Village
Population: 6,600
Earners Over $75k: 85.0%
Average Commute: 19
Marriage Rate: 15.0%
Cherry Hills Village is the happiest city in all of Colorado. What makes Cherry Hills Village residents so happy? They aren’t wasting their lives on long commutes for one. The average Cherry Hills Village resident only drives 19.7 minuted to work. Toss in affordable housing and the fact that most Cherry Hills Village residents are coming home to a loving partner and it’s easy to see the city has a lot going for it.
2. Stonegate
Population: 9,511
Earners Over $75k: 74.7%
Average Commute: 25
Marriage Rate: 17.0%
In 2nd place we have Stonegate. Residents of Stonegate are highly educated, with an impressive 61.0% having at least a bachelor’s degree. And in this modern day, education means options, and folks in Stonegate have plenty of them.
3. Castle Pines
Population: 10,573
Earners Over $75k: 76.8%
Average Commute: 27
Marriage Rate: 11.0%
Castle Pines is the third happiest city in Colorado. Why so happy? 11.0% of Castle Pines residents come home to a partner to share their life burdens. Bonus? Short commutes give them more time to spend with all their loved ones or on hobbies they enjoy.
4. Cherry Creek
Population: 12,601
Earners Over $75k: 61.0%
Average Commute: 22
Marriage Rate: 11.0%
Folks in Cherry Creek have a lot to smile about. An impressive 61.0% of Cherry Creek households earn $75,000 or more. That means families in Cherry Creek can afford peace of mind.
5. Eagle
Population: 6,816
Earners Over $75k: 69.8%
Average Commute: 22
Marriage Rate: 12.0%
Eagle is the 5th happiest city in the whole state. Eagle residents’ moods are kept high by reasonable home prices (the median home price in this Colorado city is only $503,600), happy marriages, and short commutes.
6. Superior
Population: 13,014
Earners Over $75k: 72.6%
Average Commute: 24
Marriage Rate: 6.0%
Looking to relocate? Data says you should give Superior a second look because it has all the ingredients for happiness. A staggering 72.6% of households earn over 75,000. Toss in high marriage rates and reasonable commutes, and it’s easy to see those who call Superior home have a lot to be happy about.
7. Highlands Ranch
Population: 105,147
Earners Over $75k: 74.0%
Average Commute: 25
Marriage Rate: 12.0%
Highlands Ranch is the 7th happiest city. Highlands Ranch residents pull in respectable salaries and manage to do it, on average, within 25.5 minutes of their home. They can use all that extra time saved from a long commute to indulge in hobbies they’re passionate about.
8. Lone Tree
Population: 14,209
Earners Over $75k: 72.4%
Average Commute: 22
Marriage Rate: 10.0%
Lone Tree residents are highly educated with good incomes, decent marriage rates, and reasonable commutes. What’s not to be happy about?
9. Greenwood Village
Population: 15,677
Earners Over $75k: 70.6%
Average Commute: 21
Marriage Rate: 10.0%
The 9th happiest city in all of Colorado is Greenwood Village. The average commute in Greenwood Village is only 21.2 minutes. That means they are only 21.2 minutes away from the loving spouse 10.0% of them have.
10. Erie
Population: 22,965
Earners Over $75k: 77.3%
Average Commute: 28
Marriage Rate: 13.0%
In 10th place is Erie, Colorado. What makes Erie so great? Affordable housing, reasonable commutes, and healthy incomes. If happiness is contagious, moving here might be worth a try.
And that’s our list of the happiest cities in Colorado
There you have it, happiness is a place.
While we can’t guarantee everyone living and working in the top 10 cities is happy, they have a better chance the most.
If you are looking to improve your own happiness, check out how you can help improve your personal factors: housing costs, job satisfaction, income, and education.
If your city didn’t make the top 10, check out the list below to see whether it missed the cut by a hair or if folks there are struggling to escape despair.
Detailed List Of The Happiest Cities In
| Rank | City | High Earners |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cherry Hills Village | 85.0% |
| 2 | Stonegate | 74.7% |
| 3 | Castle Pines | 76.8% |
| 4 | Cherry Creek | 61.0% |
| 5 | Eagle | 69.8% |
| 6 | Superior | 72.6% |
| 7 | Highlands Ranch | 74.0% |
| 8 | Lone Tree | 72.4% |
| 9 | Greenwood Village | 70.6% |
| 10 | Erie | 77.3% |
| 11 | Windsor | 63.5% |
| 12 | Parker | 70.9% |
| 13 | Louisville | 63.3% |
| 14 | Fairmount | 65.7% |
| 15 | Roxborough Park | 79.8% |
| 16 | Centennial | 66.5% |
| 17 | Gleneagle | 75.6% |
| 18 | Eaton | 53.5% |
| 19 | The Pinery | 78.2% |
| 20 | Castle Rock | 67.5% |
| 21 | Wellington | 62.4% |
| 22 | Woodmoor | 79.2% |
| 23 | Applewood | 59.6% |
| 24 | Edwards | 53.9% |
| 25 | Frederick | 66.9% |
| 26 | Firestone | 67.7% |
| 27 | Avon | 52.6% |
| 28 | Vail | 51.0% |
| 29 | Black Forest | 74.2% |
| 30 | Dakota Ridge | 65.1% |
| 31 | Steamboat Springs | 47.3% |
| 32 | Monument | 70.4% |
| 33 | Broomfield | 58.4% |
| 34 | Columbine | 64.7% |
| 35 | Gunbarrel | 54.1% |
| 36 | Lafayette | 52.9% |
| 37 | Redlands | 46.5% |
| 38 | Boulder | 45.5% |
| 39 | Aspen | 48.3% |
| 40 | Manitou Springs | 48.0% |
| 41 | Gypsum | 61.9% |
| 42 | Ken Caryl | 59.9% |
| 43 | Arvada | 53.6% |
| 44 | John | 64.0% |
| 45 | Commerce City | 48.2% |
| 46 | Durango | 41.7% |
| 47 | Brush | 23.4% |
| 48 | Thornton | 51.2% |
| 49 | Littleton | 48.7% |
| 50 | Evergreen | 64.5% |
| 51 | Fort Collins | 42.0% |
| 52 | Westminster | 49.0% |
| 53 | Golden | 45.7% |
| 54 | Salida | 30.7% |
| 55 | Pueblo West | 43.9% |
| 56 | Longmont | 45.4% |
| 57 | Dacono | 44.9% |
| 58 | Dove Valley | 45.4% |
| 59 | Milliken | 49.2% |
| 60 | Berthoud | 48.6% |
| 61 | Glenwood Springs | 42.7% |
| 62 | Brighton | 46.6% |
| 63 | Greeley | 34.6% |
| 64 | Estes Park | 36.8% |
| 65 | Fruita | 32.2% |
| 66 | Lochbuie | 43.5% |
| 67 | Carbondale | 52.7% |
| 68 | La Junta | 13.9% |
| 69 | Wheat Ridge | 37.8% |
| 70 | Fort Morgan | 29.2% |
| 71 | Evans | 38.1% |
| 72 | Security-Widefield | 42.1% |
| 73 | Denver | 43.3% |
| 74 | Lakewood | 41.9% |
| 75 | Cortez | 21.1% |
| 76 | Loveland | 42.6% |
| 77 | Grand Junction | 32.3% |
| 78 | Craig | 32.2% |
| 79 | Fountain | 40.7% |
| 80 | Northglenn | 43.4% |
| 81 | Shaw Heights | 44.6% |
| 82 | Clifton | 23.9% |
| 83 | Lamar | 19.4% |
| 84 | Colorado Springs | 40.4% |
| 85 | Fruitvale | 40.8% |
| 86 | Montrose | 28.9% |
| 87 | Orchard Mesa | 30.5% |
| 88 | Pueblo | 22.3% |
| 89 | Rifle | 42.1% |
| 90 | Fort Lupton | 39.5% |
| 91 | Edgewater | 33.9% |
| 92 | Woodland Park | 49.1% |
| 93 | Cimarron Hills | 36.8% |
| 94 | Trinidad | 18.4% |
| 95 | Englewood | 35.9% |
| 96 | Aurora | 40.6% |
| 97 | Gunnison | 22.3% |
| 98 | Berkley | 36.9% |
| 99 | Sterling | 23.4% |
| 100 | Welby | 32.7% |
Author
Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.
