Census-designated place · Jefferson County, Colorado

Ken Caryl, Colorado

Ken Caryl is a census-designated place in Jefferson County, Colorado, part of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area. It has 33,233 residents. Ken Caryl, Colorado has a quality-of-life score of 85 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,364 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Colorado it ranks #52 of 220 cities and towns. It ranks best on physical inactivity (low), child poverty rate (low) and high school diploma or higher (high). It ranks worst on high ozone days (high), property crime rate (high) and grocery stores (low).

85Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,364 of 15,651 cities and towns
Colorado: #52 of 220 in CO
Population: 33,233 (2020-2024)
Land area: 10 mi²
Density: 3,379.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 0840377

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety31#10,735/15,637
Economy89#1,667/15,631
Housing46#8,144/14,977
Health80#3,090/15,609
Healthcare92#1,287/15,650
Environment38#9,641/15,453
Education93#1,148/15,649
Infrastructure88#1,806/15,650
Community89#1,686/15,651
Leisure & amenities63#5,848/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ken Caryl, Colorado ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Jefferson 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

Physical inactivity · low11.5%
100/100Colorado 19.0%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Child poverty rate · low1.7%
100/100Colorado 11.2%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
High school diploma or higher · high96.9%
100/100Colorado 92.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Adult obesity · low22.1%
98/100Colorado 27.1%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Access to exercise opportunities · high99.1%
97/100Colorado 89.9%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJefferson County value
Voter turnout · high80.3%
96/100Colorado 74.4%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionJefferson County value

Weaknesses

High ozone days · high21 days
3/100Colorado 10 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyJefferson County value
Property crime rate · high2,591 /100k
4/100Colorado 2,144 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationJefferson County value
Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
7/100Colorado 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJefferson County value
Drought exposure · high85%
8/100Colorado 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAJefferson County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
9/100Colorado 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesJefferson County value
Days with unhealthy air · high3.6%
11/100Colorado 1.2%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyJefferson County value

Trends

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

Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.9× (2015-2019) → 5.1× (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$93,856 (2015-2019) → $118,269 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
38.6% (2015-2019) → 43.2% (2020-2024)
+4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
46.3% (2015-2019) → 50.4% (2020-2024)
+4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.7% (2015-2019) → 27.6% (2020-2024)
+2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
4.5% (2015-2019) → 1.7% (2020-2024)
−2.8 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, Ken Caryl, Colorado improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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.

Improved3

Bachelor's++4.2 points46.3% → 50.4%
Household income+26%$93,856 → $118,269
Broadband+1.8 points95.9% → 97.6%

Declined2

Price / income+1.1×3.9× → 5.1×
Transit use−1.5 points2.4% → 0.9%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Ken Caryl, Colorado between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	28.6 min2015-2019	27.5 min2020-2024	−1.1 min	Within the margin of error	61%
Bachelor's degree or higher	46.3%2015-2019	50.4%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Improved	61%
Broadband subscriptions	95.9%2015-2019	97.6%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Improved	14%
Effective property tax rate	0.61%2015-2019	0.56%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	26%
High school diploma or higher	97.7%2015-2019	96.9%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	5.1×2020-2024	+1.1×	Declined	18%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3862015-2019	0.4002020-2024	+0.014	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$93,8562015-2019	$118,2692020-2024	+26%	Improved	46%
Poverty rate	4.8%2015-2019	3.7%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Public transit commuters	2.4%2015-2019	0.9%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Declined	16%
Rent as share of income	24.7%2015-2019	27.6%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Rent-burdened households	38.6%2015-2019	43.2%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Unemployment rate	3.3%2015-2019	3.8%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.3%2015-2019	4.9%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	38%

“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 Ken Caryl, Colorado five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ken Caryl, 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, Ken Caryl, Colorado itself moved −5.2 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

33,233 residents (±1,582)

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

13,769 households (±586)

Ken Caryl, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $25k5.8%804
$25k–50k8.6%1,189
$50k–75k14%1,914

Homes

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

Owners and renters

13,769 households (±586)

Ken Caryl, Colorado
Colorado share

Own84%11,618
Rent16%2,151

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

18,095 workers (±1,143)

Ken Caryl, Colorado
Colorado share

Drive alone63%11,398
Carpool6.0%†1,079
Public transit0.9%†163

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

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 Jefferson County, the county holding most of Ken Caryl's residents.

Jefferson County has 17,999 employer establishments, 311 for every 10,000 residents (1.25× the US rate of 248; 1.01× Colorado's), with 210,701 paid employees at an average annual pay of $61,901. The Census Bureau also counts 61,773 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 17,999; 61,773 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 311; US 248 · Colorado 309
Paid employees: 210,701
Average annual pay: $61,901; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	1,587	27.5	1.32×More than typical	14,081	$71,762	3,612
Specialty trade contractors	1,490	25.8	1.66×More than typical	10,879	$70,867	3,853
Lessors of real estate	1,191	20.6	1.67×More than typical	2,864	$65,732	7,061
Restaurants and other eating places	1,107	19.1	1.04×About typical	21,783	$27,331	161
Management, scientific and technical consulting	880	15.2	2.27×More than typical	3,699	$79,715	3,736
Real estate agents and brokers	733	12.7	2.61×More than typical	909	$64,829	2,009
Offices of other health practitioners	668	11.6	1.90×More than typical	2,820	$47,576	2,287
Building equipment contractors	605	10.5	1.74×More than typical	5,508	$71,554	689
Architectural, engineering and related services	599	10.4	2.97×More than typical	7,895	$111,812	937
Construction of buildings	547	9.5	1.25×More than typical	3,303	$86,554	1,676
Computer systems design and related services	502	8.7	2.01×More than typical	4,745	$128,676	1,119
Limited-service restaurants	473	8.2	1.02×About typical	9,484	$22,952	56

Rank places for an industry Open Jefferson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 578,084 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

In FY2026, an estimated $5.1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Ken Caryl, Colorado: $153 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $5.1M; −55% vs FY2025
Per resident: $153; US $1,994
Sole-source: 50%; US 30%
Single offer: 22%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$2M39%
Department of the Air Force$1.8M35%
Department of the Navy$600.4K12%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$290.4K5.7%
Department of Veterans Affairs$275.9K5.4%
Departmental Offices$80.3K1.6%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$41.6K0.8%
Defense Logistics Agency$24.2K0.5%

Top recipients

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION$2.1M40%
SHERPA 6 INC$1.9M38%
3D SYSTEMS, INC.$270.5K5.3%
OPHIR CORPORATION$168.2K3.3%
AMERICAN WEST CONSTRUCTION, LLC$125.9K2.5%

Spending by fiscal year

5.8MFY2017
7.3MFY2018
6.6MFY2019
9.7MFY2020
7.3MFY2021
7.7MFY2022
7.6MFY2023
8.7M

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$1.6M32%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$1.3M26%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$1.3M26%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$276.9K5.4%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$163.4K3.2%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Ken Caryl, Colorado, so they do not add up across cities.

Ken Caryl, Colorado's figures are part of those of Jefferson County, CO ($2.2B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ken Caryl is mostly in Jefferson County.

See federal money in Jefferson 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.

Ken Caryl, Colorado is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

County

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

Jefferson County81100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO78

Other cities and towns in Jefferson 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
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/0840377

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends