City · Kit Carson County, Colorado

Burlington, Colorado

Burlington is a city in Kit Carson County, Colorado. It has 3,152 residents. Burlington, Colorado has a quality-of-life score of 63 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,831 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Colorado it ranks #123 of 220 cities and towns. It ranks best on grocery stores (high), public EV charging ports (high) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on traffic deaths (high), injury deaths (high) and mammography screening (low).

63High

Quality-of-life score: #5,831 of 15,651 cities and towns
Colorado: #123 of 220 in CO
Population: 3,152 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,468.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 0810600

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety50#7,759/15,637
Economy59#6,367/15,631
Housing52#7,178/14,977
Health33#10,425/15,609
Healthcare12#13,740/15,650
Environment95#756/15,453
Education73#4,153/15,649
Infrastructure70#4,631/15,650
Community80#3,084/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,581/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Burlington, Colorado ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Kit Carson County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Grocery stores · high4.2 /10k
99/100Colorado 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKit Carson County value
Public EV charging ports · high28.3 /10k
99/100Colorado 13.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyKit Carson County value
Public libraries · high4.3 /10k
98/100Colorado 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesKit Carson County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.3 µg/m³
95/100Colorado 5.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKit Carson County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Colorado 3.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataKit Carson County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low115 min
90/100Colorado 136 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesKit Carson County value

Weaknesses

Traffic deaths · high60.0 /100k
1/100Colorado 11.9 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataKit Carson County value
Injury deaths · high151 /100k
3/100Colorado 97 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKit Carson County value
Mammography screening · low32.0%
3/100Colorado 45.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKit Carson County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Colorado 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKit Carson County value
Flu vaccinations · low27.0%
4/100Colorado 46.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKit Carson County value
Distance to an airport · high124 mi
5/100Colorado 40 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauKit Carson County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
3,457 (2015-2019) → 3,152 (2020-2024)
−8.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Average commute timeWorsening
8.1 min (2015-2019) → 17.0 min (2020-2024)
+109%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
4.5% (2015-2019) → 14.7% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Median household incomeImproving
$49,316 (2015-2019) → $74,308 (2020-2024)
+51%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
83.3% (2015-2019) → 92.8% (2020-2024)
+9.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 8.4% (2020-2024)
+8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Burlington, Colorado improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+51%$49,316 → $74,308

Declined3

Uninsured+10 points4.5% → 14.7%
Commute+8.9 min8.1 min → 17.0 min
Poverty+5.5 points3.7% → 9.2%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Burlington, Colorado between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	8.1 min2015-2019	17.0 min2020-2024	+8.9 min	Declined	3%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.2%2015-2019	17.5%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Broadband subscriptions	83.3%2015-2019	92.8%2020-2024	+9.5 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Effective property tax rate	0.60%2015-2019	0.51%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	33%
High school diploma or higher	88.8%2015-2019	91.0%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	53%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4802015-2019	0.4632020-2024	−0.018	Within the margin of error	66%
Median household income	$49,3162015-2019	$74,3082020-2024	+51%	Improved	85%
Poverty rate	3.7%2015-2019	9.2%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Declined	11%
Rent as share of income	24.3%2015-2019	26.9%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Rent-burdened households	31.8%2015-2019	34.3%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.5%2015-2019	14.7%2020-2024	+10 points	Declined	3%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Burlington, Colorado five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Burlington, Colorado in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Burlington, Colorado itself moved −0.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

3,152 residents (±17)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,229 households (±109)

Burlington, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $25k11%†130
$25k–50k20%†241
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,229 households (±109)

Burlington, Colorado
Colorado share

Own73%896
Rent27%†333

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+11.6 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,445 workers (±183)

Burlington, Colorado
Colorado share

Drive alone73%1,052
Carpool11%†162
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Kit Carson County, the county holding most of Burlington's residents.

Kit Carson County has 275 employer establishments, 393 for every 10,000 residents (1.58× the US rate of 248; 1.27× Colorado's), with 1,948 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,614. The Census Bureau also counts 778 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 275; 778 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 393; US 248 · Colorado 309
Paid employees: 1,948
Average annual pay: $46,614; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Kit Carson County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	17	24.3	1.17×About typical	73	$43,452	28
Construction of buildings	15	21.4	2.83×More than typical	49	$52,551	30
Restaurants and other eating places	15	21.4	1.17×About typical	181	$24,586	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	14	20	4.55×More than typical	41	$47,683	6
Lessors of real estate	12	17.1	1.39×More than typical	26	$32,500	114
Specialty trade contractors	11	15.7	1.02×About typical	79	$50,000	63
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	14.3	2.84×More than typical	26	$36,115	25
Full-service restaurants	10	14.3	1.86×More than typical	89	$30,506	—
Gasoline stations	10	14.3	4.41×More than typical	180	$32,050	—
Offices of other health practitioners	10	14.3	2.35×More than typical	44	$39,750	14
Religious organizations	10	14.3	2.58×More than typical	21	$23,190	—
Traveler accommodation	9	12.9	7.12×Too few to compare	72	$24,861	6

Rank places for an industry Open Kit Carson County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 7,000 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Burlington is mostly in Kit Carson County.

See federal money in Kit Carson County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Burlington, Colorado is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Lauren BoebertR-CO-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 4.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Kit Carson County61100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Kit Carson County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0810600

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends