While big cities like Fort Collins offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Fort Collins. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Fort Collins without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Fort Collins are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Fort Collins area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Fort Collins for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Fort Collins? Timnath ranks as the best suburb of Fort Collins for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Timnath, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Fort Collins ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Colorado:
The 10 Best Fort Collins Suburbs To Live For 2024
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Timnath is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Fort Collins area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Timnath.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $162,976 a year, which is the highest in the Fort Collins region. And only 0.88% are out of work. Homes average more than $675,800 each.
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Population: 8,526
Median Income: $121,047
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%
Poverty Rate: 2.8%
More on Severance: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Severance is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Fort Collins for 2024.
It ranks 3rd for incomes in the area and only 3.21% of residents lack insurance, good for 3rd best.
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Population: 10,892
Median Income: $101,817
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 2.7%
More on Berthoud: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in Berthoud, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Fort Collins metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Berthoud.
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Population: 33,905
Median Income: $121,754
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 3.8%
More on Windsor: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Windsor ranks as the 4th best suburb of Fort Collins for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Windsor and the schools are some of the best around.
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Population: 16,704
Median Income: $106,960
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on Firestone: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is Firestone.
Firestone gets kudos for having the 5th most expensive homes in the Fort Collins area, where houses sell for an average of $562,511. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Population: 5,763
Median Income: $102,314
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%
Poverty Rate: 5.9%
More on Eaton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Eaton is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 3.63%.
According to online reports, Eaton is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Fort Collins area, meaning you need to get in soon.
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Population: 8,438
Median Income: $96,772
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 3.1%
More on Milliken: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Milliken.
Milliken schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 19.7 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
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Mead is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 9.53% of people lack insurance, good for 13th in the area.
9. La Salle, CO
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Population: 2,874
Median Income: $91,080
Unemployment Rate: 1.6%
Poverty Rate: 5.6%
More on La Salle: Crime | Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In La Salle?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
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Population: 11,163
Median Income: $101,259
Unemployment Rate: 7.7%
Poverty Rate: 11.3%
More on Wellington: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Wellington.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Fort Collins for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Fort Collins was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Fort Collins.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 17 suburbs to evaluate around Fort Collins.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 17 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Fort Collins.” We’re lookin’ at you, Timnath.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Fort Collins suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Fort Collins ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Fort Collins are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Fort Collins but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Colorado reading, check out:
Table: Best Fort Collins Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timnath, CO | 7,122 | $162,976 | $675,800 |
| 2 | Severance, CO | 8,526 | $121,047 | $494,757 |
| 3 | Berthoud, CO | 10,892 | $101,817 | $592,425 |
| 4 | Windsor, CO | 33,905 | $121,754 | $567,646 |
| 5 | Firestone, CO | 16,704 | $106,960 | $562,511 |
| 6 | Eaton, CO | 5,763 | $102,314 | $454,752 |
| 7 | Milliken, CO | 8,438 | $96,772 | $443,483 |
| 8 | Mead, CO | 5,110 | $120,532 | $549,415 |
| 9 | La Salle, CO | 2,874 | $91,080 | $421,834 |
| 10 | Wellington, CO | 11,163 | $101,259 | $466,351 |
| 11 | Longmont, CO | 98,282 | $89,720 | $540,403 |
| 12 | Loveland, CO | 76,500 | $81,898 | $487,758 |
| 13 | Johnstown, CO | 8,216 | $59,809 | $180,972 |
| 14 | Estes Park, CO | 5,906 | $63,598 | $687,234 |
| 15 | Greeley, CO | 107,949 | $65,525 | $411,873 |
| 16 | Platteville, CO | 2,917 | $76,406 | $491,083 |
| 17 | Evans, CO | 22,092 | $75,544 | $388,506 |