Denver Metro Communities Ranked by Off-Peak Commute Time

By Jessica Car · Updated July 2026

This is the cleanest commute comparison we can publish without your daily destination address. For each community we take its primary published commute (usually to downtown Denver or the nearest employment hub, DTC for south metro, Boulder for the Boulder Area, etc.) and rank by the off-peak time. Lower is faster.

Two things to remember: off-peak times are a floor, not a typical day; rush hour adds 30–80% in the corridors that bottleneck (I-25 north and south, US-36 inbound, C-470 east). And these times measure a single corridor; commuters who take RTD light rail (south metro communities served by the E or R Lines, Boulder via the FlexRide network) often beat the drive in rush hour even if the off-peak comparison favors driving.

If your commute is to anywhere other than downtown, this ranking shifts substantially. Northern Colorado looks worse to downtown but excellent to Fort Collins. The west metro looks great to Boulder but adds 10–20 minutes to DIA. Use the per-community commute page for matrix views to your specific destination.

Rank	Community	Region	Off-peak commute
1	Baker	Central Denver	5–10 min → Downtown Denver
2	Five Points	Central Denver	5–10 min → Downtown Denver
3	RiNo	Central Denver	5–10 min → Downtown Denver
4	The Highlands	Central Denver	5–10 min → Downtown Denver
5	Centennial	South Metro	5–15 min → DTC / Greenwood Village
6	Greenwood Village	South Metro	5 min → DTC (within city)
7	Manitou Springs	Colorado Springs	10–15 min → Colorado Springs (downtown)
8	Pueblo West	Pueblo	10–15 min → Downtown Pueblo
9	Cherry Creek	Central Denver	10–15 min → Downtown Denver
10	Platt Park	Central Denver	10–15 min → Downtown Denver
11	Washington Park	Central Denver	10–15 min → Downtown Denver
12	Park Hill	Central Denver	10–15 min → Downtown Denver
13	Edgewater	West Metro & Foothills	10–15 min → Downtown Denver
14	Superior	Boulder Area	10–12 min → Boulder
15	Lone Tree	South Metro	10–15 min → DTC / Greenwood Village
16	Wheat Ridge	West Metro & Foothills	12–20 min → Downtown Denver
17	Englewood	South Metro	12–18 min → Downtown Denver
18	LoDo	Central Denver	14–20 min → DTC / Tech Center
19	Westminster	North Metro	15–20 min → Downtown Denver
20	Thornton	North Metro	15–20 min → Downtown Denver
21	Commerce City	North Metro	15–20 min → Downtown Denver
22	Federal Heights	North Metro	15–20 min → Downtown Denver
23	Northglenn	North Metro	15–20 min → Downtown Denver
24	Watkins	East Metro	15–20 min → DIA
25	Fountain	Colorado Springs	15–20 min → Colorado Springs (downtown)
26	Lakewood	West Metro & Foothills	15–20 min → Downtown Denver
27	Littleton	South Metro	15–20 min → Downtown Denver
28	Castle Pines	South Metro	15–20 min → DTC / Greenwood Village
29	Arvada	North Metro	18–25 min → Downtown Denver
30	Broomfield	North Metro	20–25 min → Downtown Denver
31	Aurora	East Metro	20–25 min → Downtown Denver
32	Monument	Colorado Springs	20–25 min → Colorado Springs (downtown)
33	Golden	West Metro & Foothills	20–30 min → Downtown Denver
34	Longmont	Boulder Area	20–25 min → Boulder
35	Highlands Ranch	South Metro	24–30 min → Downtown Denver
36	Palmer Lake	Colorado Springs	25–30 min → Colorado Springs
37	Peyton	Colorado Springs	25–35 min → Colorado Springs (downtown)
38	Woodland Park	Colorado Springs	25–30 min → Colorado Springs (downtown)
39	Beulah	Pueblo	25–30 min → Pueblo
40	Morrison	West Metro & Foothills	25–30 min → Downtown Denver
41	Louisville	Boulder Area	25–30 min → Downtown Denver
42	Lafayette	Boulder Area	25–30 min → Downtown Denver
43	Nederland	Boulder Area	25–30 min → Boulder
44	Brighton	North Metro	30–35 min → Downtown Denver
45	Lochbuie	North Metro	30–40 min → Downtown Denver
46	Boulder	Boulder Area	30–35 min → Downtown Denver
47	Parker	South Metro	30–45 min → Downtown Denver
48	Bennett	East Metro	35–40 min → Downtown Denver
49	Strasburg	East Metro	35–40 min → Downtown Denver
50	Castle Rock	South Metro	35–45 min → Downtown Denver
51	Evergreen	West Metro & Foothills	37–45 min → Downtown Denver
52	Pueblo	Pueblo	39–45 min → Colorado Springs
53	Conifer	West Metro & Foothills	40–50 min → Downtown Denver
54	Erie	Boulder Area	40–45 min → Downtown Denver
55	Berthoud	Northern Colorado	45–55 min → Downtown Denver
56	Johnstown	Northern Colorado	45–55 min → Downtown Denver
57	Loveland	Northern Colorado	50–60 min → Downtown Denver
58	Fort Collins	Northern Colorado	55–65 min → Downtown Denver
59	Greeley	Northern Colorado	55–65 min → Downtown Denver
60	Windsor	Northern Colorado	55–65 min → Downtown Denver
61	Timnath	Northern Colorado	55–65 min → Downtown Denver
62	Severance	Northern Colorado	55–65 min → Downtown Denver
63	Wellington	Northern Colorado	65–80 min → Downtown Denver

Other rankings

Each axis ranks the same 63 communities on a different dimension. A community that wins on one rarely wins on all; these views are complementary, not competing. See all rankings →

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