Cold semi-arid
Fort Collins, Colorado
Larimer County, Colorado · Population 170k · 5,023 ft elevation
Living in Fort Collins
Fort Collins has a cold semi-arid climate: hot summers (July highs around 87°F) and cold winters (January lows around 18°F).
Precipitation is dry at about 16″ a year, and it gets a fair bit of snow (51″ a season).
Skies are sunny (71% of possible sunshine). It never gets truly muggy.
Air quality is moderate: a median AQI of 50, with about 11 unhealthy-air days in the latest year.
There is plenty to explore outdoors around Fort Collins: about 21% of the land within 30 miles is public (parks, national forest and the like), and the terrain rises and falls about 4,100 ft around town.
Fort Collins at a glance
- Population
- 170k
- Elevation
- 5,023 ft
- Average daily high
- 65°F45th percentile
- Average daily low
- 37°F9th percentile
- Annual precipitation
- 16″10th percentile
- Annual snowfall
- 51″88th percentile
- Sunshine hours per year
- 3,149 hrs80th percentile
- Median AQI
- 5084th percentile
- Median home value
- $548k84th percentile
- Median rent
- $1,661/mo74th percentile
- Median household income
- $84k60th percentile
- Property tax rate
- 0.50%9th percentile
- Top state income-tax rate
- 4.4%
- Sales tax (state + local)
- 7.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.2%
- Homes with broadband
- 92%55th percentile
- Walkability index
- 13.085th percentile
- Average commute
- 20 min
- Math proficiency (8th grade)
- 55%64th percentile
- Reading proficiency (8th grade)
- 60%
- Violent crime rate
- 289 per 100k70th percentile
- Property crime rate
- 1,773 per 100k
- Overall natural-hazard risk
- 9048th percentile
- Outdoor access
- 8786th percentile
- Public land within 10 miles
- 3%
- Public land within 30 miles
- 21%
- Mountain relief within 30 miles
- 4,068 ft
Climate by month
| Month | High | Low | Precipitation | Snow | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45°F | 18°F | 0.4″ | 6.7″ | 199 hrs |
| Feb | 47°F | 21°F | 0.5″ | 7.6″ | 193 hrs |
| Mar | 56°F | 28°F | 1.3″ | 9.4″ | 251 hrs |
| Apr | 62°F | 35°F | 2.1″ | 6.2″ | 257 hrs |
| May | 71°F | 44°F | 2.7″ | 1.6″ | 290 hrs |
| Jun | 82°F | 53°F | 1.9″ | — | 342 hrs |
| Jul | 87°F | 59°F | 1.6″ | — | 355 hrs |
| Aug | 85°F | 56°F | 1.4″ | — | 330 hrs |
| Sep | 77°F | 48°F | 1.4″ | 0.7″ | 292 hrs |
| Oct | 64°F | 36°F | 1.3″ | 4.1″ | 243 hrs |
| Nov | 52°F | 26°F | 0.7″ | 7.6″ | 208 hrs |
| Dec | 44°F | 18°F | 0.5″ | 7.5″ | 188 hrs |
Near Fort Collins
- Timnath, CO · 8k
- Loveland, CO · 77k
- Windsor, CO · 36k
- Severance, CO · 9.3k
- Wellington, CO · 12k
- Greeley, CO · 109k
- Johnstown, CO · 18k
- Eaton, CO · 5.8k
Largest places in Colorado
- Denver, CO · 714k
- Colorado Springs, CO · 483k
- Aurora, CO · 390k
- Lakewood, CO · 156k
- Thornton, CO · 143k
- Arvada, CO · 123k
- Westminster, CO · 116k
- Pueblo, CO · 112k
Sources: NOAA climate normals, NASA POWER, EPA air quality, U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, FBI, EPA walkability and EDFacts. Methodology