What it's like to live in Rifle
Rifle is a small city in Colorado with county unemployment below the national average and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Rifle deals with commute times longer than most cities, college degree attainment below the national average, cold, harsh winters, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.
The good
- Low unemployment in the county
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Above-average commute times
- Low college degree attainment
- Cold, harsh winters
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Rifle compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Rifle
Based on Rifle's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,616
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $52,320 a year
- 37% of Rifle renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$82,700
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $41,350
- Homes cost 5.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of livingNear US average
$1,308/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,308 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices run above average, with a median around $413,500. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $413,500 · 37% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
3.2% county unemployment
Unemployment in Garfield County is 3.2%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Garfield County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 24% below US
252 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1353/100k · Rifle Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 16% above US
30 min average commute
Traffic is a real factor here. The 30.1 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 7% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 86°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 12°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 46% below US
19% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
5 public schools inside the boundary
There are 5 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, close to the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Colorado National Monument (59 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Rifle's strongest point is county unemployment below the national average; the main tradeoffs are commute times longer than most cities and college degree attainment below the national average. A year of median rent ($1,308/mo) equals 20% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low). It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive and anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.
Other places near Rifle
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