Lakewood, Colorado
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Lakewood.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Lakewood compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 156,309City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $85,789Incorporated place (ACS)9% above U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 155ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)55% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $548,200City limits (ACS)81% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,746City limits (ACS)30% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.4%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 26 minNear U.S. avg (25 min)U.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 427% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- UnavailableFBI CDE gap
- Property crime rate
- UnavailableFBI CDE gap
- Summer high
- 87°FNear U.S. avg (87°F)U.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 18°F16.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 15.4 in53% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 2816% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Lakewood with another city
Lakewood (pop. 156,309) sits in Colorado. Median household income is roughly $85,789, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 155 — well above the national housing-cost baseline (100 ≈ U.S. average). Ownership is a high bar — typical values near $548,200 push many newcomers toward renting first.
Lakewood is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Lakewood with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
High plains sun and Front Range mountain access pull outdoor-oriented movers. Winter lows around 18°F mean heating costs and snow logistics belong on the checklist. Plan on roughly 26 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 42. Unemployment recently ran near 3.4%, broadly in line with many large U.S. counties. Official FBI agency crime rates were not published for this place in the latest pull, so treat safety as a neighborhood-level research task.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Lakewood city, 1600000US0843000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN080590000000003 (Jefferson County, May 2026)
- Crime: data unavailable
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00023062 DENVER-STAPLETON)
Last updated 2026-07-28