Which Colorado counties score best for off-grid living?

Of the 64 Colorado counties we have scored, Phillips County scores highest at 81 and Clear Creek County lowest at 58. Colorado ranks 37th of 50 overall, at 75 out of 100 (Significant challenges). Buildability separates its counties most: 0 to 10 out of 10.

Updated 2026-09-27 · 64 counties · 345 spots of private rural land scored

Significant challengesColorado ranks 37th of 50, 75 out of 100, in the Best States ranking: the typical parcel on the state's private rural land, with each scored spot weighted by the land it stands for. On a fresh draw of counties it would rank between #36 and #38. City counties with little private rural land have no page, and any parcel can be scored, free, below.

Every scored county in Colorado, best score first

Find a county64 counties


Phillips → 7 people / sq mi	81	11	20	15	15	10	10
Rio Grande → 12 people / sq mi	80	13	20	15	15	7	10
Sedgwick → 4 people / sq mi	80	12	20	15	15	8	10
Weld → 90 people / sq mi	80	12	20	15	15	8	10
Arapahoe → 822 people / sq mi	79	11	19	15	15	9	10
Chaffee → 20 people / sq mi	79	13	20	15	14	7	10
Denver → 4681 people / sq mi	79	12	20	15	13	10	9
Dolores → 2 people / sq mi	79	15	18	15	15	7	9
Douglas → 457 people / sq mi	79	13	20	15	13	9	9
Grand → 9 people / sq mi	79	14	20	13	15	7	10
Broomfield → 2331 people / sq mi	78	13	18	15	13	9	10
Cheyenne → 1 people / sq mi	78	11	20	15	15	7	10
Delta → 28 people / sq mi	78	11	20	15	15	8	9
Eagle → 32 people / sq mi	78	15	19	15	15	7	7
Kit Carson → 3 people / sq mi	78	11	19	15	15	8	10
Mineral → 1 people / sq mi	78	14	19	13	15	7	10
Ouray → 10 people / sq mi	78	14	19	15	15	7	8
Pueblo → 71 people / sq mi	78	11	18	15	15	10	9
San Miguel → 6 people / sq mi	78	15	18	15	15	7	8
Washington → 2 people / sq mi	78	11	20	15	15	7	10
Yuma → 4 people / sq mi	78	11	19	15	15	8	10
Custer → 8 people / sq mi	77	12	19	15	15	6	10
Elbert → 16 people / sq mi	77	11	20	15	14	7	10
Gunnison → 5 people / sq mi	77	15	19	12	15	7	9
Huerfano → 4 people / sq mi	77	11	19	15	15	7	10
Morgan → 23 people / sq mi	77	11	20	15	15	7	9
Adams → 457 people / sq mi	76	11	19	15	15	6	10
Baca → 1 people / sq mi	76	10	19	15	15	7	10
El Paso → 350 people / sq mi	76	11	20	15	13	7	10
Larimer → 143 people / sq mi	76	14	20	15	13	7	7
Lincoln → 2 people / sq mi	76	11	19	15	15	6	10
Montrose → 20 people / sq mi	76	12	18	15	13	8	10
Bent → 4 people / sq mi	75	8	19	15	15	8	10
Garfield → 21 people / sq mi	75	13	20	13	15	7	7
Kiowa → under 1 person / sq mi	75	11	18	15	15	6	10
Lake → 20 people / sq mi	75	15	20	12	15	6	7
Logan → 11 people / sq mi	75	10	18	15	15	7	10
Summit → 50 people / sq mi	75	16	17	13	15	7	7
Alamosa → 23 people / sq mi	74	12	20	15	14	4	9
Conejos → 6 people / sq mi	74	11	20	15	15	6	7
Fremont → 33 people / sq mi	74	13	19	15	12	6	9
Las Animas → 3 people / sq mi	74	11	16	15	15	7	10
Moffat → 3 people / sq mi	73	11	17	15	15	6	9
Prowers → 7 people / sq mi	73	7	19	15	15	7	10
Saguache → 2 people / sq mi	73	12	19	15	15	5	7
Boulder → 450 people / sq mi	72	13	17	15	11	9	7
La Plata → 33 people / sq mi	72	10	20	15	12	7	8
Montezuma → 13 people / sq mi	72	9	20	15	14	5	9
Otero → 14 people / sq mi	72	7	20	15	15	5	10
Pitkin → 17 people / sq mi	72	16	20	13	13	8	2
Rio Blanco → 2 people / sq mi	72	9	19	15	14	6	9
Hinsdale → under 1 person / sq mi	71	15	18	13	14	5	6
Jackson → under 1 person / sq mi	71	12	18	13	15	6	7
Teller → 44 people / sq mi	71	14	20	13	12	6	6
Costilla → 3 people / sq mi	70	12	19	15	15	4	5
Mesa → 48 people / sq mi	70	4	19	15	14	9	9
Routt → 11 people / sq mi	70	12	17	14	14	6	7
Archuleta → 11 people / sq mi	69	12	18	13	14	8	4
Crowley → 7 people / sq mi	69	9	18	15	15	5	7
Park → 8 people / sq mi	69	11	18	13	14	4	9
Gilpin → 40 people / sq mi	66	10	20	15	11	6	4
San Juan → 2 people / sq mi	64	19	17	10	11	7	0
Jefferson → 754 people / sq mi	59	9	20	12	12	6	0
Clear Creek → 23 people / sq mi	58	9	20	12	12	5	0

Score is out of 100: Water 25, Legal 20, Solar 15, Hazard 15, Food 15, Buildability 10. Green cells score 80% or better of their maximum; amber cells under 70%.

Where the good land is

14% of Colorado's private rural land scores Good with caveats or better (80 or more). The strongest counties are Phillips, Rio Grande and Sedgwick. The weakest are Clear Creek, Jefferson and San Juan. Where the land falls short, it is most often on water (rain, wells and salty or weak wells) and growing food (season, soil and water for crops).

What separates them

Buildability: Phillips County scores 10 of 10, Clear Creek County 0. Slope, the septic the ground needs, footings, and the county's land price. A steep or soggy lot that fails a septic test is the dealbreaker photos hide.
Water: San Juan County scores 19 of 25, Mesa County 4. Drinking, system, and irrigation water, the #1 reason off-grid and homestead plans collapse. A low score means a deep, costly well or hauled water.
Food: Phillips County scores 10 of 15, Park County 4. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals.
Solar: Phillips County scores 15 of 15, San Juan County 10. Year-round solar potential, including the darkest month, and how much energy it takes to heat and cool a house there. Matters most if you're fully off-grid.
Hazard: Phillips County scores 15 of 15, San Juan County 11. Flood, wildfire, seismic, and severe-weather exposure: the risks that raise insurance and build cost or strand a parcel.
Legal: Phillips County scores 20 of 20, Las Animas County 16. Whether you can reach the land and live on it: road access, distance to emergency care, internet and cell, and how built up the area is, which decides how many lot-size, livestock, and zoning rules you will meet.

The state's soft spot

Water is Colorado's weakest dimension, at 11 of 25 for the state as a whole. Drinking, system, and irrigation water, the #1 reason off-grid and homestead plans collapse. A low score means a deep, costly well or hauled water. Getting a parcel here off-grid runs $30k to $100k by our estimates across these counties, before the house. The full Colorado row in the Best States ranking has the state-wide spread and how the popular off-grid guides rank it.

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Before you buy in Colorado

The scores read the physical land. Whether you may legally live on it is a separate question, and it changes at the county line: Is it legal to live off-grid in Colorado? covers zoning, building code, septic, and wells for the state, with the counties that opt out. For the reason water carries a quarter of the score, how you get water on off-grid land is the read. And the five-point check is the order to do it in.

Significant challengesColorado: 75 of 100, 37th of 50. A good state is not a good parcel. Score the one you are looking at, free, in about a minute.

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