Moving to
Wellington.

All Wellington data Compare Wellington

11,798people live here $107,017median household income▲ 33% above US $2,473median rent per month▲ 75% above US $464,200median home value▲ 40% above US

What it's like to live in Wellington

Wellington is a small city in Colorado with household incomes running above the national average, a highly educated workforce, a growing population, 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. Wellington deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, commute times longer than most cities, and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks.

The good

Higher-than-average incomes
Highly educated workforce
Growing population
Average class sizes

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
High home prices
Above-average commute times
Air quality concerns
High rent burden for renters
Cold, harsh winters

How Wellington compares

Median household income

Wellington$107,017

Colorado avg$95,470

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Wellington$2,473

Colorado avg$1,761

US$1,413

Median home value

Wellington$464,200

Colorado avg$539,400

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Wellington

Based on Wellington's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$4,946

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $98,920 a year
52% of Wellington renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$92,840

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $46,420
Homes cost 4.3× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 75% above US

$2,473/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $2,473 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices run above average, with a median around $464,200. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $464,200 · 52% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.9% county unemployment

Unemployment in Larimer County is 3.9%, 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.

Larimer County (county-wide)

Safety

176 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Wellington doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 732/100k · Policed by Larimer County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 19% above US

31 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 30.9 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. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 19% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

71%

Work from home

19%

Carpool

9.5%

Public transit

0.6%

Walk

0.4%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 85°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 16°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 29% above US

46% bachelor's degree or higher

The population is well-educated, with 46% holding college degrees. That points to a strong professional base and generally a healthy local economy.

Schools

3 public schools inside the boundary

There are 3 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, close to the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Rocky Mountain National Park (43 miles away).

Bottom line

Wellington's strongest points are household incomes running above the national average and a highly educated workforce; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($2,473/mo) equals 28% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (19% of workers here already work from home) and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget, anyone who doesn't drive, and anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.

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