Colorado Springs, CO

Colorado Springs has a combined sales tax rate of 8.2%, made up of Colorado's 2.9% state rate, El Paso County's 1.23% county rate, and Colorado Springs' 3.07% city rate (El Paso County^[1]). Colorado has a flat 4.4% state income tax, and the county assessor is the place to verify property assessment details and local parcel data (El Paso County Assessor^[2]). BLS inflation data are published at the metro level, and the relevant metro is Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, not Colorado Springs city proper; July 2026 CPI for that metro was up 3.9% year over year (BLS^[3]).

Colorado Springs is served by large local systems, including UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central and Penrose Hospital, both of which are major inpatient anchors for the city (UCHealth^{[4?] (unconfirmed source)}, CommonSpirit^{[5?] (unconfirmed source)}). For specialists, retirees often still look to the broader Front Range and Denver for the deepest tertiary-care bench, especially if they want very narrow subspecialties. Medicare plan choice is competitive in the county, but plan availability changes annually, so the best current check is Medicare.gov plan comparison for El Paso County (Medicare.gov^{[6?] (unconfirmed source)}).

Colorado Springs' NOAA climate normals show annual precipitation of 15.91 inches, with a typical July high of 86.5°F and January low of 18.5°F at the Colorado Springs station (NOAA/NWS^[7], NOAA NCEI^[8]). The same station reports 32.5 inches of annual snowfall and a generally long comfortable outdoor season from late spring into early fall, especially for golf and hiking (NOAA/NWS^[7]). NOAA NCEI climate normals are station-based, so these numbers describe the Colorado Springs airport area rather than a citywide average (NOAA NCEI^[8]).

FBI-linked reporting for Colorado Springs shows a violent crime rate of 90.8 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 277.2 per 100,000 across the 2019-2024 period, with the violent rate below the national average and property crime well above it (CrimeExplorer^[9]). The city is represented in FBI UCR/NIBRS-linked summaries, but agency reporting is voluntary and incomplete nationally after 2021, so year-over-year trend lines should be treated cautiously rather than as a full census of crime (FBI UCR^[10]). The Colorado Bureau of Investigation also notes that Colorado crime data are compiled from agency submissions to the national UCR program, which is another reason to avoid overreading a single city's apparent trend (CBI^[11]).

FHFA’s metro series shows Colorado Springs at a house price index of 450.76, with 0.27% quarter-over-quarter growth and 22.80% five-year growth, which signals continued but not runaway appreciation in the metro (FHFA HPI^[12]). Realtor.com’s Colorado Springs market page shows a median listing price of $469,897 and 50 days on market for homes, suggesting a market that is active but not especially fast-moving (Realtor.com^[13]). For retirement-oriented buyers, there is also a dedicated 55+ segment, with Realtor.com listing 48 retirement community homes for sale and an average 62 days on market for that niche (Realtor.com 55+^[14]).

Colorado Springs Airport is the nearest commercial airport, and the city-owned FlyCOS page confirms it as the local airport brand (FlyCOS^[15]). Published route listings show nonstop service to hubs and major spokes including Denver, Chicago O'Hare, Chicago Midway, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Houston, and Baltimore, which gives retirees decent Midwest and East Coast connectivity without a Denver drive for every trip (Aviability^[16]). Third-party airport mapping places COS roughly 5 miles from the city centroid, so the drive is short by metro standards (EveryCityInTheUSA^[17]).

Colorado Springs has multiple notable golf clubs and courses within about 30 minutes, including private and semi-private options plus at least one strong public choice for daily play. The city also sits close to Pikes Peak hiking, Garden of the Gods, and winter skiing farther west in the mountains, making it attractive for an active retiree who wants golf plus big outdoor variety. Golf-specific fee and access information is best treated as indicative, not authoritative, because there is no government source for club pricing (Golf Club Atlas^{[18?] (unconfirmed source)}, USGA^{[19?] (unconfirmed source)}).

Colorado Springs' population is 494,743, and its median age is 35.8, according to city-level Census-style reporting that summarizes the community as a large Front Range city with a younger-than-retirement-center age profile (EveryCityInTheUSA^[17]). The same source places El Paso County median household income at $90,778, which helps frame the local purchasing power behind clubs, dining, and services (EveryCityInTheUSA^[17]). For an active retiree, the appeal is less about urban walkability and more about suburban amenities, mountain views, and a downtown core that is improving but still modest in scale (EveryCityInTheUSA^[17]).

El Paso County's FEMA National Risk Index score is 94.1, and county-level summaries identify winter weather and riverine flooding as important modeled hazards, with wildfire also a major concern in the broader Front Range setting (RiskByCounty^[20], PlainHazard^[21]). EPA/Colorado air-quality guidance emphasizes that wildfire smoke can make air unsafe quickly and that smoke episodes are a recurring issue in the region, even when day-to-day AQI is often good (Colorado Air Quality^[22]). Because FEMA publishes NRI at the county level, the correct hazard geography here is El Paso County, not the city itself (RiskByCounty^[20]).