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Moving to
Welby.
Welby is an unincorporated community in Adams County, CO. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.
What it's like to live in Welby
Welby is an unincorporated community in Colorado with 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. Welby deals with rent well above the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, college degree attainment below the national average, and a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin.
The good
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
- High rent burden for renters
- Cold winters
- Snowy winters — 45" per year
How Welby compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Welby
Based on Welby's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,312
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $66,240 a year
- 66% of Welby renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$77,000
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $38,500
- Homes cost 4.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 17% above US
$1,656/mo median rent
Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,656 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices run above average, with a median around $385,000. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $385,000 · 66% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.2% county unemployment
Unemployment in Adams County is 4.2%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Adams County (county-wide)
Safety
380 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Welby doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Adams County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs close to the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 2127/100k · Policed by Adams County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
28 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 27.7 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 10% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 88°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 19°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 59% below US
15% 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
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. 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 Rocky Mountain National Park (53 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Nothing in Welby's numbers stands out as a clear strength, and the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks. A year of median rent ($1,656/mo) equals 25% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Welby
All Colorado guides →Not sure Welby is the one?
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