Cold semi-arid
Golden, Colorado
Jefferson County, Colorado · Population 20k · 5,686 ft elevation
Living in Golden
Golden has a cold semi-arid climate: hot summers (July highs around 86°F) and cold winters (January lows around 21°F).
Precipitation is dry at about 18″ a year, and it gets a fair bit of snow (58″ a season).
Skies are exceptionally sunny (72% of possible sunshine). It never gets truly muggy.
Air quality is moderate: a median AQI of 48, with about 13 unhealthy-air days in the latest year.
Golden is an outdoor hub: about 24% of the land within 30 miles is public (parks, national forest and the like), and the terrain rises and falls about 6,000 ft around town.
Golden at a glance
- Population
- 20k
- Elevation
- 5,686 ft
- Average daily high
- 63°F35th percentile
- Average daily low
- 38°F12th percentile
- Annual precipitation
- 18″12th percentile
- Annual snowfall
- 58″91th percentile
- Sunshine hours per year
- 3,195 hrs83th percentile
- Median AQI
- 4880th percentile
- Median home value
- $791k94th percentile
- Median rent
- $1,854/mo82th percentile
- Median household income
- $96k71th percentile
- Property tax rate
- 0.44%5th percentile
- Top state income-tax rate
- 4.4%
- Sales tax (state + local)
- 7.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.5%
- Homes with broadband
- 93%62th percentile
- Walkability index
- 10.570th percentile
- Average commute
- 24 min
- Math proficiency (8th grade)
- 42%42th percentile
- Reading proficiency (8th grade)
- 51%
- Violent crime rate
- 124 per 100k37th percentile
- Property crime rate
- 2,200 per 100k
- Overall natural-hazard risk
- 9564th percentile
- Outdoor access
- 9089th percentile
- Public land within 10 miles
- 3%
- Public land within 30 miles
- 24%
- Mountain relief within 30 miles
- 6,037 ft
Climate by month
| Month | High | Low | Precipitation | Snow | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45°F | 21°F | 0.6″ | 8.0″ | 210 hrs |
| Feb | 45°F | 21°F | 0.8″ | 8.6″ | 205 hrs |
| Mar | 53°F | 28°F | 1.3″ | 9.2″ | 252 hrs |
| Apr | 59°F | 35°F | 2.4″ | 9.1″ | 261 hrs |
| May | 68°F | 44°F | 2.6″ | 1.7″ | 292 hrs |
| Jun | 80°F | 53°F | 2.1″ | — | 333 hrs |
| Jul | 86°F | 59°F | 2.0″ | — | 346 hrs |
| Aug | 84°F | 57°F | 1.9″ | — | 327 hrs |
| Sep | 76°F | 48°F | 1.4″ | 0.3″ | 294 hrs |
| Oct | 63°F | 36°F | 1.1″ | 5.2″ | 256 hrs |
| Nov | 52°F | 28°F | 0.8″ | 9.2″ | 218 hrs |
| Dec | 44°F | 20°F | 0.5″ | 6.7″ | 202 hrs |
Near Golden
- West Pleasant View, CO · 5.2k
- Applewood, CO · 8.1k
- Fairmount, CO · 11k
- Genesee, CO · 3.8k
- Lakewood, CO · 156k
- Wheat Ridge, CO · 32k
- Arvada, CO · 123k
- Edgewater, CO · 5k
Largest places in Colorado
- Denver, CO · 714k
- Colorado Springs, CO · 483k
- Aurora, CO · 390k
- Fort Collins, CO · 170k
- Thornton, CO · 143k
- Westminster, CO · 116k
- Pueblo, CO · 112k
- Greeley, CO · 109k
Sources: NOAA climate normals, NASA POWER, EPA air quality, U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, FBI, EPA walkability and EDFacts. Methodology