Scores by category

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

Safety69#4,775/15,637
Economy92#1,326/15,631
Housing54#6,950/14,977
Health83#2,660/15,609
Healthcare20#12,450/15,650
Environment76#3,655/15,453
Education77#3,676/15,649
Infrastructure52#7,513/15,650
Community56#6,813/15,651
Leisure & amenities3#15,156/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ponderosa Park, Colorado ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Elbert 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

Voter turnout · high95.2%
100/100Colorado 74.4%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionElbert County value
Property crime rate · low282 /100k
97/100Colorado 2,144 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationElbert County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.0 µg/m³
96/100Colorado 5.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyElbert County value
Physical inactivity · low14.6%
96/100Colorado 19.0%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Violent crime rate · low54 /100k
96/100Colorado 422 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationElbert County value
Adult obesity · low23.5%
96/100Colorado 27.1%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.3 /10k
1/100Colorado 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsElbert County value
Firearm deaths · high34.7 /100k
1/100Colorado 15.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataElbert County value
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Colorado 0.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsElbert County value
Primary care physicians · low11 /100k
1/100Colorado 84 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElbert County value
Dentists · low14 /100k
2/100Colorado 88 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteElbert County value
Restaurants and bars · low3.6 /10k
4/100Colorado 9.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsElbert County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
3,636 (2015-2019) → 3,453 (2020-2024)
−5%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
35.5% (2015-2019) → 43.1% (2020-2024)
+7.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
89.4% (2015-2019) → 95.5% (2020-2024)
+6.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.2× (2015-2019) → 5.3× (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Average commute timeWorsening
39.7 min (2015-2019) → 49.4 min (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Median household incomeImproving
$106,959 (2015-2019) → $132,154 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Ponderosa Park, Colorado improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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 11 measures

Change of every measure of Ponderosa Park, Colorado between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	39.7 min2015-2019	49.4 min2020-2024	+9.7 min	Within the margin of error	2%
Bachelor's degree or higher	35.5%2015-2019	43.1%2020-2024	+7.7 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Broadband subscriptions	89.4%2015-2019	95.5%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Effective property tax rate	0.51%2015-2019	0.41%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
High school diploma or higher	97.0%2015-2019	95.8%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Home price to income ratio	4.2×2015-2019	5.3×2020-2024	+1.1×	Within the margin of error	19%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3722015-2019	0.3682020-2024	−0.003	Within the margin of error	54%
Median household income	$106,9592015-2019	$132,1542020-2024	+24%	Within the margin of error	41%
Poverty rate	2.6%2015-2019	5.4%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Rent-burdened households	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.5%2015-2019	2.9%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	73%

“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 Ponderosa Park, Colorado five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ponderosa Park, 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, Ponderosa Park, Colorado itself moved −1.5 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

3,453 residents (±419)

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: 50–59 men (−5.4 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

3,453 residents (±419)

Ponderosa Park, Colorado
Colorado share

White83%2,874
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino13%†433

Education

2,337 residents (±229)

Ponderosa Park, Colorado
Colorado share

No high school diploma4.2%†97
High school or GED22%†523
Some college20%461

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

1,173 households (±123)

Ponderosa Park, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $25k8.2%†96
$25k–50k5.1%†60
$50k–75k11%†124
$75k–100k5.8%†68
$100k–150k36%†417
$150k–200k13%†155
$200k or more22%†253

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $75k–100k (−13.5 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

1,173 households (±123)

Ponderosa Park, Colorado
Colorado share

Own98%1,150
Rent2.0%†23

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

† 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

23 households (±25)

Ponderosa Park, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,5000.0%0

Home values

1,150 homes (±128)

Ponderosa Park, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $150k1.6%†18
$150k–250k0.0%0
$250k–400k0.6%†7

Age of homes

1,173 homes (±123)

Ponderosa Park, Colorado
Colorado share

2010 or later4.9%†58
2000–200911%†127
1980–199961%718

Size of homes

1,173 homes (±123)

Ponderosa Park, Colorado
Colorado share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom0.0%0
2 bedrooms4.1%†48

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

1,611 workers (±224)

Ponderosa Park, Colorado
Colorado share

Drive alone68%1,102
Carpool10%†167
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home21%†342
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+13.1 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

1,269 workers (±206)

Ponderosa Park, Colorado
Colorado share

Under 15 min6.0%†76
15–29 min12%†147
30–44 min30%†375

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

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 Elbert County, the county holding most of Ponderosa Park's residents.

Elbert County has 722 employer establishments, 251 for every 10,000 residents (1.01× the US rate of 248; 0.81× Colorado's), with 3,474 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,009. The Census Bureau also counts 3,479 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 722; 3,479 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 251; US 248 · Colorado 309
Paid employees: 3,474
Average annual pay: $49,009; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	134	46.5	3.00×More than typical	760	$62,816	342
Construction of buildings	53	18.4	2.43×More than typical	121	$76,264	133
Other specialty trade contractors	45	15.6	6.22×More than typical	383	$63,966	135
Building equipment contractors	44	15.3	2.54×More than typical	220	$56,327	77
Services to buildings and dwellings	42	14.6	2.16×More than typical	117	$56,179	150
Lessors of real estate	36	12.5	1.01×About typical	43	$38,930	311
Landscaping services	30	10.4	2.97×More than typical	90	$63,622	63
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	29	10.1	3.19×More than typical	107	$77,654	56
Restaurants and other eating places	24	8.3	0.45×Fewer than typical	430	$21,949	10
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	23	8	2.42×More than typical	85	$52,271	40
Truck transportation	23	8	1.58×More than typical	37	$41,946	69
Real estate agents and brokers	22	7.6	1.57×More than typical	18	$43,389	119

Rank places for an industry Open Elbert County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 28,820 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 $6,853 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Ponderosa Park, Colorado: $1.98 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $6,853; +52% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.98; US $2,007
Sole-source: 0.4%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.7%

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

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$6,853100%

Top recipients

B2B SOLUTIONS LLC$6,853100%

Spending by fiscal year

-5.1KFY2017
4.2KFY2019
5.6KFY2021
0FY2022
438.7FY2023
101.9KFY2024
4.5KFY2025
6.9KFY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$5,50980%
Basic chemical manufacturing · 3251$1,08216%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$1552.3%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$78.361.1%
Boiler, tank, and shipping container manufacturing · 3324$25.100.4%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$3.50

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 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 Ponderosa Park, Colorado, so they do not add up across cities.

Ponderosa Park, Colorado's figures are part of those of Elbert County, CO ($72.7K in FY2026), never added to them: 9.4% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ponderosa Park is mostly in Elbert County.

See federal money in Elbert 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.

Ponderosa Park, 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.

Elbert County72100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO78

Other cities and towns in Elbert 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/0860655

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends