Population
6,701 residents
Census ACS 2023 - Colorado
City profile · Colorado · Census ACS 2023
Population, income, housing, safety, climate and schools for Air Force Academy - drawn straight from Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA, NCES, HUD and FEMA, refreshed on the 2024–2025 release cycle.
Air Force Academy - the verdict
Air Force Academy ranks in the 74th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Colorado's Air Force Academy is a small town, with 6,701 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Air Force Academy households earn a median of $93,889 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 10.9%. The median resident age is 20.9 years. Educational attainment runs 35.4% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 10.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Colorado carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 103.1 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,089 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $202 across Colorado, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 out of 100 (Very High).
Population
6,701 residents
Census ACS 2023 - Colorado
Median Household Income
$93,889 /yr
Poverty 10.9%
Cost of Living Index (state)
103.1 (US=100)
Above Average - BEA RPP 2024, Colorado average
Air Force Academy measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Each percentile compares Air Force Academy against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Colorado only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Colorado-relative analysis
Among the 408 Colorado cities PlainCities tracks with reported poverty rate data, Air Force Academy ranks #95 - the 77th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Air Force Academy only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Colorado only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
74th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Based on 5,373 workers 16 and over.
State-average estimates for Colorado - EIA 2023 residential energy data
Estimates reflect Colorado state averages. Actual costs vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Cost of living is a Colorado state average from BEA; rent and hazard risk are county-level figures from HUD and FEMA for the county Air Force Academy sits in
Population-matched peers from other states, closest to Air Force Academy's 6,701 residents (Census ACS 5-Year 2023).
Median-household-income-matched peers from other states, closest to Air Force Academy's $93,889 (Census ACS 5-Year 2023, table B19013).
City-level race and ethnicity, Census ACS 5-year 2023 (tables B02001, B03001), OMB Directive 15 categories.
Population + median household income, sourced from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 (population) and B19013 (median household income).
| City | Population | Median Household Income |
|---|---|---|
| Air Force Academy (this city) | 6,701 | $93,889 |
| Gunnison | 6,712 | $55,313 |
| Orchard Mesa | 6,597 | $76,173 |
| Carbondale | 6,553 | $94,300 |
Air Force Academy, CO has a population of 6,701 according to U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates.
Median annual household income in Air Force Academy runs $93,889, based on Census ACS 2023 data.
BEA does not publish a city-level cost-of-living figure for Air Force Academy; the closest available measure is the Colorado state average, a cost of living index of 103.1 (U.S. average = 100), rated "Above Average" based on BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 data. Costs within Colorado vary by metro area.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.
Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.