City · Chaffee County, Colorado

Salida, Colorado

Salida is a city in Chaffee County, Colorado. It has 5,861 residents. Salida, Colorado has a quality-of-life score of 65 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,403 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Colorado it ranks #116 of 220 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), arts, entertainment and recreation (high) and hot days (low). It ranks worst on hospital quality rating (low), home price to income ratio (high) and suicide rate (high).

65High

Quality-of-life score: #5,403 of 15,651 cities and towns
Colorado: #116 of 220 in CO
Population: 5,861 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 2,043.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 0867280

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.

Safety77#3,609/15,637
Economy50#7,770/15,631
Housing16#12,548/14,977
Health79#3,255/15,609
Healthcare30#10,924/15,650
Environment32#10,470/15,453
Education84#2,567/15,649
Infrastructure31#10,768/15,650
Community100#1/15,651
Leisure & amenities100#62/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low3.8 µg/m³
100/100Colorado 5.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyChaffee County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high21.1 /10k
100/100Colorado 6.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsChaffee County value
Hot days · low0 days
100/100Colorado 23 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationChaffee County value
Access to exercise opportunities · high99.9%
100/100Colorado 89.9%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChaffee County value
Voter turnout · high85.6%
99/100Colorado 74.4%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionChaffee County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,154 /100k
99/100Colorado 1,686 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChaffee County value

Weaknesses

Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100Colorado 4.0United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesChaffee County value
Home price to income ratio · high9.3×
2/100Colorado 5.7×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Suicide rate · high29.0 /100k
4/100Colorado 22.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataChaffee County value
Mental health care shortage · high18.0
11/100Colorado 12.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationChaffee County value
Comfortable days · low23.4%
12/100Colorado 26.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationChaffee County value
Days with unhealthy air · high3.1%
12/100Colorado 1.2%2024U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyChaffee County value

Trends

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

Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
33.4% (2015-2019) → 53.5% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$46,875 (2015-2019) → $70,045 (2020-2024)
+49%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
19.3% (2015-2019) → 12.6% (2020-2024)
−6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Child poverty rateImproving
20.3% (2015-2019) → 13.8% (2020-2024)
−6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
7.0× (2015-2019) → 9.3× (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.9% (2015-2019) → 86.7% (2020-2024)
+5.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Salida, Colorado improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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.

Improved2

Bachelor's++20 points33.4% → 53.5%
Household income+49%$46,875 → $70,045

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Salida, Colorado between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.2 min2015-2019	16.8 min2020-2024	−0.4 min	Within the margin of error	53%
Bachelor's degree or higher	33.4%2015-2019	53.5%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	99%
Broadband subscriptions	80.9%2015-2019	86.7%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Effective property tax rate	0.34%2015-2019	0.29%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	25%
High school diploma or higher	90.1%2015-2019	94.1%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Home price to income ratio	7.0×2015-2019	9.3×2020-2024	+2.3×	Within the margin of error	3%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4592015-2019	0.4642020-2024	+0.005	Within the margin of error	46%
Median household income	$46,8752015-2019	$70,0452020-2024	+49%	Improved	84%
Poverty rate	13.0%2015-2019	11.1%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Rent as share of income	34.9%2015-2019	32.3%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Rent-burdened households	58.8%2015-2019	58.0%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	19.3%2015-2019	12.6%2020-2024	−6.7 points	Within the margin of error	91%

“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 Salida, Colorado five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Salida, 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, Salida, Colorado itself moved +4.6 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

5,861 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

2,811 households (±223)

Salida, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $25k14%†382
$25k–50k22%†630
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,811 households (±223)

Salida, Colorado
Colorado share

Own63%1,781
Rent37%1,030

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−10.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,225 workers (±279)

Salida, Colorado
Colorado share

Drive alone47%1,502
Carpool10%†338
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 Chaffee County, the county holding most of Salida's residents.

Chaffee County has 1,076 employer establishments, 522 for every 10,000 residents (2.10× the US rate of 248; 1.69× Colorado's), with 7,171 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,134. The Census Bureau also counts 3,317 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,076; 3,317 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 522; US 248 · Colorado 309
Paid employees: 7,171
Average annual pay: $49,134; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	96	46.6	3.01×More than typical	447	$83,653	315
Lessors of real estate	91	44.2	3.59×More than typical	225	$42,080	481
Restaurants and other eating places	77	37.4	2.04×More than typical	1,066	$31,652	25
Construction of buildings	73	35.4	4.69×More than typical	221	$55,548	183
Ambulatory health care services	69	33.5	1.61×More than typical	376	$58,082	182
Real estate agents and brokers	57	27.7	5.69×More than typical	68	$52,176	80
Building equipment contractors	41	19.9	3.31×More than typical	102	$53,441	44
Full-service restaurants	39	18.9	2.47×More than typical	529	$34,575	14
Offices of other health practitioners	37	18	2.96×More than typical	129	$44,039	128
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	35	17	6.39×More than typical	591	$26,367	50
Other amusement and recreation industries	34	16.5	6.81×More than typical	591	$26,305	49
Traveler accommodation	28	13.6	7.53×More than typical	188	$32,670	25

Rank places for an industry Open Chaffee County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,596 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: Salida is mostly in Chaffee County.

See federal money in Chaffee 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.

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

House

Brittany PettersenD-CO-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 15.4%

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.

Chaffee County81100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Chaffee 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/0867280

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends