Is downtown Colorado Springs a good place to live?

---
title: "Is downtown Colorado Springs a good place to live?"
description: "Downtown Colorado Springs has real walkability, rents under Denver, and Pikes Peak views. An honest look at who it works for, and who it doesn't."
source: "https://www.avian-coloradosprings.com/blog/downtown-colorado-springs-living"
markdown: "https://www.avian-coloradosprings.com/markdown/blog/downtown-colorado-springs-living"
lastModified: "2026-06-08"
---
# Is downtown Colorado Springs a good place to live?
- Published: 2026-06-08
- Last reviewed: 2026-06-08
- Author: Avian leasing team
- Category: Neighborhood
- Primary keyword: downtown Colorado Springs living
- Secondary keywords: downtown Colorado Springs living, is downtown Colorado Springs a good place to live, downtown Colorado Springs apartments, moving to downtown Colorado Springs, downtown Colorado Springs vs Denver
- Reading time: 7 minutes
Short answer: yes, if your reference point is the rest of Colorado Springs or a comparable mid-sized Western city. Less obvious if your reference point is the Pearl District or LoDo.

The neighborhood has changed a lot since 2018. The [U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum opened on July 30, 2020](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/leader-accessible-design-us-olympic-paralympic-museum-opens-colorado-springs-180975412/), and the investment around it followed: restaurants, bars, two new residential buildings on Weber and Sahwatch. The walkable core around Tejon Street now reads as a functioning urban neighborhood, not a half-empty downtown trying to be one.

It's its own thing, and the comparison to Denver stops being the useful frame pretty quickly once you live here.

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## What is downtown like day to day?

About twenty walkable blocks, with quick access to some of the best outdoor terrain in the country. On foot, you can hit Monument Valley Park, America the Beautiful Park, the Olympic Museum, and a stack of restaurants. By car, [Garden of the Gods](https://gardenofgods.com) is 10 to 15 minutes out. Pikes Peak sits visible from most blocks on a clear day, which is most days.

The restaurant corridor on Tejon has [real options: MacKenzie's Chop House, Lumen8 Rooftop, Rabbit Hole, Shuga's](/blog/restaurants-walking-distance-downtown-colorado-springs). It's more than you'd find in most secondary cities at this size, if not the thousand-restaurant density a real city gets. The Fine Arts Center, Pioneers Museum, and Carter Payne carry the cultural calendar. [Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs](/blog/moving-to-colorado-springs-neighborhood-guide) are a short drive west.

[Colorado Springs has around 530,000 residents, with the broader metro at about 780,000](https://censusreporter.org/profiles/31000US17820-colorado-springs-co-metro-area/). Downtown is small relative to all that. You'll see the same person at the coffee shop two Tuesdays in a row.

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## What are the best things about living in downtown Colorado Springs?

Three things make the case: the outdoor access, the rent gap with Denver, and the fact that the workforce here isn't going anywhere.

### Outdoor access

Most cities that advertise "mountains nearby" mean ninety minutes. Colorado Springs means ten minutes to Garden of the Gods, thirty to Manitou, an hour to a 14er if you leave by 6 a.m. This isn't a marketing line. It's the actual reason people choose Colorado Springs over Fort Collins or Pueblo.

### Rent

A 1-bedroom in a newer Class A building downtown runs $1,500 to $2,200. Comparable product in LoDo or RiNo in Denver [averages around $2,300 a month](https://www.rentcafe.com/apartments-for-rent/us/co/denver/lodo/). You're getting a similar amenity stack (rooftop spa, fitness center, co-working space) for several hundred less per month. Buildings still in lease-up are running deeper deals. Weeks of free rent, months of free parking. Ask before you accept the listed rate; you will be surprised how often there's something on the table.

### Employment that doesn't churn

[Five military installations anchor the local economy](https://homefrontmilitarynetwork.org/uncategorized/exploring-the-military-presence-in-colorado-springs/): Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station (home of NORAD), and the Air Force Academy. UCHealth Memorial and Penrose-St. Francis are the two big hospital systems. That combination makes downtown's renter population unusually steady. When one cohort of military families rotates out, another rotates in. Federal spending sets the floor, not the local economic cycle.

### Walkability

It's a real "leave the car" kind of walkable, even if it isn't Chicago. Central downtown addresses [score in the low-to-mid 80s on Walk Score](https://www.walkscore.com/score/4-e-willamette-ave-colorado-springs-co-80903), rated "Very Walkable." That means groceries, coffee, dinner most nights without the car keys.

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## What are the downsides of living in downtown Colorado Springs?

Three real ones. The neighborhood is still filling in, nightlife runs out earlier than you'd want, and transit is thin.

The first one is visible. Some blocks are active and well-kept. Others have vacant storefronts, or stretches that feel like they're waiting for the next building to open. If your reference point is a built-out urban neighborhood, downtown COS will feel incomplete in places. It is incomplete in places.

Nightlife ends earlier than Denver. The bars that exist are good. The late-night options are not deep. If that matters to you, the move is to drive up to Denver on weekends, or live somewhere else.

Public transit is built for commuters with cars. There's bus service, and people use it, but most residents drive most of the time. Without a car, you're limited to the walkable core plus whatever Uber covers.

I-25 through the city has gotten worse as the population has grown. Not Los Angeles, but noticeably worse than five years ago, especially at rush hour.

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## Who is it best for?

It works well for four groups. Military officers and defense contractors who rotate assignments and don't want to buy. Healthcare professionals at UCHealth or Penrose. Remote workers who want Colorado at a price that doesn't include Denver. Empty nesters who want walkability without the suburb sprawl.

It's a harder sell if you want a dense, fully built-out urban scene with late-night options. "Urban for Colorado Springs" and "urban" are different things, and the gap is worth saying out loud before you sign a lease.

Younger professionals who work in Denver sometimes pick Colorado Springs for the savings and commute up a few days a week. The drive is [about 70 miles door-to-door on I-25](https://distancecalc.com/how-far-from-denver-co-to-colorado-springs-co). Doable twice a week, rough five days a week.

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## How much does it cost?

New downtown buildings rent from about $1,700 for a studio to $2,500 for a larger 2-bedroom on a high floor with mountain views. Most 1-bedrooms sit between $1,500 and $2,300. Avian's [floor plans and pricing](/floor-plans) land in that range, and the [amenity set](/amenities) — rooftop spa, fitness center with mountain views, resort-style pool, covered parking — covers what most Class A buildings advertise.

[Metro home prices currently average around $455,000–$470,000](https://www.noradarealestate.com/blog/colorado-springs-real-estate-market/), depending on the month. Downtown condos for purchase are rare; most of the new residential supply is rental.

Day-to-day grocery and food costs are close to Denver. The savings come from housing. They are almost entirely the housing.

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## How does it compare to Denver?

Denver is bigger, denser, and more expensive. Colorado Springs is [about 70 miles south on I-25](https://distancecalc.com/how-far-from-denver-co-to-colorado-springs-co), with roughly a third of Denver's population.

Denver wins on volume. More restaurants, more nightlife, more jobs, more concerts. Colorado Springs wins on rent, traffic, and outdoor access. Pikes Peak, the Royal Gorge, and Manitou Springs aren't accessible from Denver in under an hour, and that gap matters more the longer you live here.

Remote workers have increasingly picked Colorado Springs since 2020 for this reason. You get the Colorado lifestyle at a price that leaves money in your account at the end of the month. The trade is a quieter social calendar unless you drive north. If you're already committed to the move and setting up an apartment for the job, [the operator's guide to remote work from a downtown apartment](/blog/remote-work-downtown-colorado-springs-apartment) covers internet, coworking, and the altitude effect on long screen sessions.

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## Is it safe?

Safer than its reputation in some circles suggests, but not uniform block to block.

The core restaurant and cultural district around Tejon Street and the Olympic Museum is well-trafficked and fine at night. Walk a few blocks east or west and it gets less predictable. Like a lot of mid-sized American cities, downtown COS has a visible homeless population and some street-level disorder that's moved around more than it's gone away.

The [Colorado Springs Police Department publishes crime mapping data online](https://policedata.coloradosprings.gov/Crime/Colorado-Springs-Crime-Map/ar6u-b83m). Ten minutes on that map before you sign a lease pays for itself.

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## FAQ

**Is Colorado Springs better than Denver to live in?**
For remote workers and military families, Colorado Springs usually wins on the numbers. Lower rent, less traffic, the same mountain access. For people whose careers or social lives need Denver, it doesn't. They're solving different problems.

**Is it expensive to live in downtown Colorado Springs?**
Relative to Denver, no. A 1-bedroom in a new downtown building is $1,500 to $2,200 a month, $200 to $500 less than comparable Denver product. Studios start around $1,700.

**What's the job market like in downtown Colorado Springs?**
The five military installations and two big hospital systems are the dominant employers. The defense contractor ecosystem around Peterson SFB and Schriever SFB has grown over the past decade. There's a smaller tech sector. Many newer residents are remote workers who don't touch the local job market at all.

**Can you live in downtown Colorado Springs without a car?**
For groceries, restaurants, and the park, yes. For the military bases, COS Airport (about 20 minutes southeast), or most of the city outside the walkable core, you'll need a car or a serious ride-share budget.

**What's the best part of downtown Colorado Springs to live in?**
The blocks between Tejon Street and Weber Street in the central core are the most active. The area around the Olympic Museum and America the Beautiful Park has the most pleasant street environment. Old Colorado City, about a mile west on Colorado Avenue, has its own character. Quieter, more residential, good independent restaurants and shops.

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*Avian is a LEED Silver certified apartment community at 217 S. Weber St., one block from Tejon in downtown Colorado Springs. Studios from $1,691. [Schedule a tour](/contact) to walk the building.*

## Common questions

### Is Colorado Springs better than Denver to live in?

For remote workers and military families, Colorado Springs often wins on the numbers: lower rent, less traffic, same mountain access. For people whose careers or social lives require Denver, it doesn't. They're solving different problems.
### Is it expensive to live in downtown Colorado Springs?

Relative to Denver, no. A 1-bedroom in a new downtown building runs $1,500–$2,200 per month, which is $200–$500 less than comparable Denver product. Studios start around $1,700.
### What's the job market like in downtown Colorado Springs?

The five military installations and two major hospital systems are the dominant employers. The defense contractor ecosystem around Peterson Space Force Base and Schriever SFB is large and has grown over the past decade. Many new residents are remote workers who don't depend on the local job market at all.
### Can you live in downtown Colorado Springs without a car?

For groceries, restaurants, and the park, yes. For the military bases, Colorado Springs Airport, or most of the city outside the walkable core, you'll need a car or a consistent ride-share budget.
### What's the best part of downtown Colorado Springs to live in?

The blocks between Tejon Street and Weber Street in the central core are the most active. The area around the Olympic Museum and America the Beautiful Park has the most pleasant street environment. Old Colorado City, about a mile west, is quieter and more residential.