City safety & data profile
Black ForestCO
Black Forest, CO is a 13K-resident city in El Paso County with a median household income of $145,460.
El Paso County, Colorado. Federal health, economic, and safety indicators for Black Forest, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, CDC PLACES, and CMS Hospital Compare. Black Forest has a population larger than 18% of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks, a median home value of $856,200, and 5 hospitals serving the surrounding area.
- 13K
- Population (place)
- Bottom 19%
- By size
- $145,460
- Median income (place)
- $856,200
- Median home (place)
- 5%
- Poverty rate (place)
The read on Black Forest
Black Forest posts a median household income higher than 92% of U.S. cities Areazine tracks, where 5 hospitals serve the Black Forest area.
- Top 8%
- by median income, US cities
- 5
- hospitals in & near Black Forest
Composite score · Black Forest, CO
74/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2024
A transparent index Areazine derives from Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published, not an official Census Bureau or FBI rating. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move to or avoid any place. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.
Median household income vs cities tracked on Areazine; ACS 5-Year Estimates.
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis. ACS 5-Year Estimates.
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS 5-Year Estimates.
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents. State-level rate (per-city UCR reporting is incomplete/voluntary): every city in the state shares this value; lower is stronger on this axis.
Black Forest in context: the full national tables: Healthiest Cities in America (health outcomes only) · Community Wellbeing Cities (this page's blended composite).
Where Black Forest income ranks nationally
Median household income vs. every place Areazine profiles (place-level ACS)
$145,460 Top 8% higher than 92% of 3,889 places Areazine profiles
Each bar is a $20,000-wide band; taller bars hold more places Areazine profiles. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) · 2024 ACS 5-year
CO cities ranked by population
Ranked by headcount across the 59 CO places Areazine tracks with both population and income data. Tooltip carries the income rank.
- Denver
Denver, CO
729,019 residents
- Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, CO
456,568 residents
- Aurora
Aurora, CO
359,407 residents
- Fort Collins 170,924
Fort Collins, CO
170,924 residents
- Lakewood 152,597
Lakewood, CO
152,597 residents
- Thornton 133,451
Thornton, CO
133,451 residents
- Westminster 116,317
Westminster, CO
116,317 residents
- Arvada 115,368
Arvada, CO
115,368 residents
- Centennial 109,741
Centennial, CO
109,741 residents
- Pueblo 109,412
Pueblo, CO
109,412 residents
What this shows By headcount, Denver ranks #1 here -- income honors go to The Pinery.
CO cities ranked by median household income
The same 59-city CO pool, sorted by median household income instead of headcount. Tooltip carries the population rank.
- The Pinery
The Pinery, CO
$194,446 median
- Erie
Erie, CO
$173,349 median
- Superior
Superior, CO
$159,434 median
- Highlands Ranch
Highlands Ranch, CO
$159,307 median
- Cherry Creek
Cherry Creek, CO
$153,776 median
- Greenwood Village
Greenwood Village, CO
$149,029 median
- Louisville
Louisville, CO
$147,319 median
- Black Forest
Black Forest, CO
$145,460 median
- Castle Rock
Castle Rock, CO
$145,197 median
- Parker
Parker, CO
$133,369 median
What this shows The Pinery posts the highest place-level median income in CO; Denver is largest by headcount.
The quick read
Reading Black Forest, CO beyond the headline numbers
Black Forest sits inside El Paso County, Colorado, at roughly 39.01°N, -104.70°W. Population 13,116, $145,460 median household income. Median home value $856,200. Poverty rate 5%, read against that income figure since two cities on the same median can differ underneath it.
5 hospitals in/around Black Forest (nearest 5.5 mi away), 3/5 avg rating, 5 with an ER. Climate: 47°F annual average.
At 48.4 years, Black Forest's median age is in the oldest quarter of reporting cities.
28.6% of Black Forest workers report working from home, the highest quarter of reporting cities. Where that share runs this high, local income increasingly reflects employers located somewhere else.
Among the CDC measures on this page, physical inactivity departs furthest from its peer median: 15.3% in Black Forest, the lowest-prevalence quarter of the 3,759 cities reporting that measure.
A bachelor's degree or higher is common in Black Forest: 56.5% of adults, the highest quarter of reporting cities -- a labor pool skewed toward credentialed work.
The median home in Black Forest costs around 5.9 times what a median household earns in a year -- the most expensive quarter of reporting cities, and far enough ahead of local pay that ownership is largely closed to median earners.
Hardship is low by national standards: 5% of Black Forest, CO residents live below the poverty line, in the least-affected quarter of the 3,890 cities reporting a rate.
Public transit carries 0% of Black Forest workers, a smaller share than at least three quarters of reporting cities.
Unemployment in Black Forest sits at 4.8%, below the midpoint of reporting cities.
Sources: U.S. Census ACS, CDC PLACES, CMS Hospital Compare, plus live alerts for Black Forest from FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC. Economic comparison bars use the unweighted average across tracked Census places with a reported value, not a household-weighted national median.
The 10-Year Trend 2013–2024
County-level trend (El Paso County): Black Forest's own historical series isn't separately published by the Census Bureau, so these year-over-year figures track the surrounding county, not the city alone.
Economics
The clearest outlier in Black Forest's numbers is median household income: $145,460, which is 63% above what's typical across the tracked-city set. Poverty rate also diverges: 5.0%, 60% below average.
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Median Rent | |
| Poverty Rate | 5% -60% vs avg |
| Unemployment | 4.8% |
| Bachelor's Degree+ | 56.5% |
| Work From Home | 28.6% |
| Public Transit | 0% |
Headcount
Community Health 15 measures
Health Indicators
Preventive Care
Other Measures
Nearest Hospitals 5 within 25 mi
CMS Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating (1-5): a composite score across dozens of reported measures, not a single outcome guarantee for any patient. It isn't adjusted for patient case mix and isn't directly comparable across hospital types, a critical-access facility and a large teaching hospital aren't rated on the same measure set.
Climate
NOAA 1991-2020 NormalsCost of Living
BEA 20240.7% above national average
Metro area: Colorado Springs, CO (MSA)
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities via FRED. RPP of 100 = national average.
Flood Insurance Claims History
FEMA NFIP, county-level120 flood insurance claims have been filed in El Paso County since 2016, with $456K paid out by the NFIP.
The NFIP record does not attribute most of this county's claims to one named flood event.
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims, via OpenFEMA. County-level data: individual claims are not attributed to a specific city or address by FEMA.
What alerts and safety updates affect Black Forest?
No area-tagged alerts are on record for Black Forest right now. New federal and counterpart-agency notices still land in the site feed as agencies publish them.
City alert dispatch desk
Sheet CO-BLACK-FOREST · Black Forest
Black Forest: no area-tagged alerts on record. State hubs carry the live CAP stream.
- FEED-QUIET No tagged alerts
- LEAD-NONE Feed idle
- DESK-IDLE Awaiting feed
Counts reflect published articles tagged to Black Forest; untagged NOAA county warnings may still appear in the site feed. Browse Colorado state hubs · Methodology
Related reading
Common Questions 9
What is the population of Black Forest, CO? ▼
What is the median household income in Black Forest? ▼
What is the median home value in Black Forest? ▼
What are the top health concerns in Black Forest? ▼
What hospitals are near Black Forest? ▼
What is the median age in Black Forest? ▼
What is the climate like in Black Forest? ▼
What is the cost of living in Black Forest? ▼
Has Black Forest had flood insurance claims? ▼
Cities nationwide with a comparable poverty or income figure 8
Two ACS-derived peer sets for Black Forest, both outside Colorado so the neighborhoods are not the geographic nearby list below.
Similar poverty rate
Nearest place-level ACS poverty rates outside CO (5% here).
Similar median income
Nearest place-level ACS median household incomes outside CO ($145,460 here).
Compare Black Forest with another city
Pick a second U.S. city to open a side-by-side profile on population, income, health, and hospitals, the same federal datasets as this page.
In the Area 8
What to do with Black Forest's numbers
Use this as a starting research checklist, not a verdict on whether to live here.
- Check live recalls, weather and hazard alerts scoped to the Black Forest area before relying on national headlines. Check your area
- Read the poverty rate alongside the income figure, two places with the same median can have very different realities.
- Compare Black Forest against Colorado peers on any ranking lens. Explore Colorado
Population and economics (income, home value, poverty, education) are place-level U.S. Census ACS; health is CDC PLACES; hospital counts reflect facilities in and around the city. County-level trends are labeled when shown.
Data Sources
All data on this page comes from official U.S. government sources. Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates, place geography). Health data from the CDC PLACES program (2023). Hospital ratings from CMS Hospital Compare (2024). Climate data from NOAA. Education data from NCES. Cost of living from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Crime statistics, where referenced on Areazine, originate from the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Housing market figures referenced on Areazine come from HUD Fair Market Rents. Census economics and population are at place geography; some health and hospital indicators are reported at the county level (El Paso County) where that is the smallest published unit.
Every figure on Areazine is published directly from official U.S. government sources, no number is typed in by an editor. City demographic and health figures are compiled directly from U.S. Census (place-level ACS), CDC, and CMS releases, updated quarterly within 30 days of upstream release. County-level trends are labeled when shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-09-16.