Town · Gunnison County, Colorado

Crested Butte, Colorado

Crested Butte is a town in Gunnison County, Colorado. It has 1,229 residents. Crested Butte, Colorado has a quality-of-life score of 76 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,756 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Colorado it ranks #84 of 220 cities and towns. It ranks best on arts, entertainment and recreation (high), physical inactivity (low) and hot days (low). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), job growth (low) and mental health care shortage (high).

76High

Quality-of-life score: #3,756 of 15,651 cities and towns
Colorado: #84 of 220 in CO
Population: 1,229 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,418.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 0818310

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety54#7,166/15,637
Economy50#7,837/15,631
Housing28#10,785/14,977
Health90#1,535/15,609
Healthcare51#7,603/15,650
Environment77#3,516/15,453
Education63#5,763/15,649
Infrastructure47#8,316/15,650
Community97#447/15,651
Leisure & amenities100#31/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Crested Butte, Colorado ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Gunnison 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

Arts, entertainment and recreation · high28.1 /10k
100/100Colorado 6.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGunnison County value
Physical inactivity · low11.3%
100/100Colorado 19.0%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Hot days · low0 days
100/100Colorado 23 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationGunnison County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low3.9 µg/m³
100/100Colorado 5.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyGunnison County value
Restaurants and bars · high27.0 /10k
99/100Colorado 9.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGunnison County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,136 /100k
99/100Colorado 1,686 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGunnison County value

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high31.2 /100k
3/100Colorado 22.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataGunnison County value
Job growth · low-4.3%
3/100Colorado -0.7%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataGunnison County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Colorado 12.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationGunnison County value
Unemployment rate · high13.3%
4/100Colorado 4.0%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Drought exposure · high94%
4/100Colorado 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAGunnison County value
Pharmacies · low0.6 /10k
4/100Colorado 0.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGunnison County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,339 (2015-2019) → 1,229 (2020-2024)
−8.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Home price to income ratioWorsening
8.0× (2015-2019) → 13.6× (2020-2024)
+69%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
14.5% (2015-2019) → 1.6% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Average commute timeWorsening
8.6 min (2015-2019) → 13.9 min (2020-2024)
+62%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Unemployment rateWorsening
1.0% (2015-2019) → 13.3% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
63.4% (2015-2019) → 75.6% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Crested Butte, Colorado improved on 0 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Crested Butte, Colorado between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	63.4%2015-2019	75.6%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	94%
Broadband subscriptions	89.0%2015-2019	87.7%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	0.34%2015-2019	0.33%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	17%
High school diploma or higher	100.0%2015-2019	99.1%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4102015-2019	0.4522020-2024	+0.042	Within the margin of error	20%
Median household income	$70,6442015-2019	$74,4792020-2024	+5.4%	Within the margin of error	12%
Rent as share of income	28.3%2015-2019	36.1%2020-2024	+7.8 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Rent-burdened households	46.9%2015-2019	53.8%2020-2024	+6.9 points	Within the margin of error	32%

“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 Crested Butte, Colorado five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Crested Butte, 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, Crested Butte, Colorado itself moved −18 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,229 residents (±372)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 men (−6.3 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,229 residents (±372)

Crested Butte, Colorado
Colorado share

White86%†1,063
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino9.4%†116

Education

995 residents (±285)

Crested Butte, Colorado
Colorado share

No high school diploma0.9%†9
High school or GED8.5%†85
Some college13%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

705 households (±202)

Crested Butte, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $25k3.1%†22
$25k–50k31%†221
$50k–75k17%†117
$75k–100k3.7%†26
$100k–150k17%†118
$150k–200k4.1%†29
$200k or more24%†172

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+16.0 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

705 households (±202)

Crested Butte, Colorado
Colorado share

Own68%†482
Rent32%†223

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+15.7 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

223 households (±131)

Crested Butte, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,50059%†132

Home values

482 homes (±155)

Crested Butte, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $150k9.5%†46
$150k–250k0.0%0
$250k–400k5.2%†25

Age of homes

1,179 homes (±238)

Crested Butte, Colorado
Colorado share

2010 or later2.7%†32
2000–200917%†199
1980–199931%†371

Size of homes

1,179 homes (±238)

Crested Butte, Colorado
Colorado share

Studio7.4%†87
1 bedroom15%†178
2 bedrooms26%†308

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

645 workers (±205)

Crested Butte, Colorado
Colorado share

Drive alone25%†159
Carpool0.0%0
Public transit0.0%0
Walk18%†119
Bike24%†158
Work from home32%†209
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+30.9 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

436 workers (±162)

Crested Butte, Colorado
Colorado share

Under 15 min83%†360
15–29 min1.6%†7
30–44 min7.1%†31

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Gunnison County, the county holding most of Crested Butte's residents.

Gunnison County has 1,191 employer establishments, 686 for every 10,000 residents (2.76× the US rate of 248; 2.22× Colorado's), with 7,194 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,633. The Census Bureau also counts 2,886 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,191; 2,886 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 686; US 248 · Colorado 309
Paid employees: 7,194
Average annual pay: $46,633; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	142	81.8	5.28×More than typical	462	$69,385	256
Lessors of real estate	99	57	4.63×More than typical	235	$57,498	481
Construction of buildings	91	52.4	6.93×More than typical	324	$62,488	163
Restaurants and other eating places	73	42.1	2.29×More than typical	1,022	$30,495	10
Services to buildings and dwellings	53	30.5	4.53×More than typical	145	$46,959	226
Real estate agents and brokers	50	28.8	5.92×More than typical	61	$74,869	57
Building finishing contractors	44	25.3	6.67×More than typical	148	$59,439	107
Ambulatory health care services	43	24.8	1.19×About typical	152	$58,072	154
Management, scientific and technical consulting	41	23.6	3.52×More than typical	61	$105,066	130
Full-service restaurants	38	21.9	2.85×More than typical	630	$33,876	7
Building equipment contractors	37	21.3	3.54×More than typical	143	$65,441	27
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	37	21.3	6.76×More than typical	105	$71,352	33

Rank places for an industry Open Gunnison County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 17,359 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: Crested Butte is mostly in Gunnison County.

See federal money in Gunnison 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.

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

House

Jeff HurdR-CO-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 0.6%

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.

Gunnison County85100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Gunnison 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

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