Fort Carson, Colorado

Community in El Paso County · population 17,693 (2020 Census)

Household income: $66,237
Jan low / Jul high: 19° / 87°
Snow a year: 33 in
Tornadoes ≤10 mi since 1950: 14
Median age: 22.3

Fort Carson is a community of 17,693 people in El Paso County, Colorado. It ranks more of a college town than 100% of Colorado towns, more walkable than 85% of Colorado towns, better for young professionals than 78% of Colorado towns.

How Fort Carson ranks

Percentile among Colorado towns with at least 500 people on The Town Files lifestyle rankings. 50 is typical for the state; 90 means better than 90% of Colorado towns.

The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025).

Homes and cost of living

Median rent is $2,180 a month. 0.0% of households own their home.

Census ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. "Typical town" = median of Colorado towns with 500+ people.

Housing	Fort Carson	Typical Colorado town
Median home value	—	$471,100
Median rent	$2,180	$1,582
Median household income	$66,237	$86,246
Home value ÷ income	—×	5.1×
Homeownership	0.0%	72.7%
Median year built	2002	1982
Seasonal / vacation homes	0.0%	—

Who lives in Fort Carson

People	Fort Carson	Typical Colorado town
Median age	22.3	40.1
Age 65 and over	0.0%	16.9%
Under 18	26.6%	—
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.6%	37.8%
Below the poverty line	15.3%	8.8%
Veterans	20.1%	—
Born outside the U.S.	4.8%	—
Work from home	1.6%	15.3%
Average commute	11.0 min	24.2 min
Homes with broadband	98.8%	92.9%

Weather in Fort Carson

July highs average 86.5°F and January lows 18.5°F. About 15.9 inches of rain and melted snow fall a year, with 32.5 inches of snow (typical Colorado town: 47.4 in). Expect about 23 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 160 nights at or below freezing.

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals: average daily high and low by month; precipitation and snowfall in inches. Temperatures from the Colorado Springs Muni Ap station (9.1 mi away).

Tornadoes, storms and disasters

14 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Fort Carson since 1950, compared with 11 for the typical Colorado town. 1 rated (E)F2 or stronger. The strongest, an F2, struck on April 11, 1977 about 4.0 miles from the town center. The most recent was on July 9, 2012.

NOAA Storm Events Database, tornado tracks (start to end point) passing within 10 miles of the town center, 1950–2026.

Hail of 1 inch or larger has been reported within 10 miles 251 times; the largest was 4.00 inches on August 6, 2018.

Severe weather in El Paso County since 1996

NOAA Storm Events Database, El Paso County, 1996–2026 (all event types recorded since 1996). 20 deaths recorded.

El Paso County has been included in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1953, most often for fire, flood, drought.

Declared	Incident	Declaration
August 25, 2023	Flood	DR-4731: Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes
March 28, 2020	Biological	DR-4498: Covid-19 Pandemic
March 13, 2020	Biological	EM-3436: Covid-19
July 16, 2015	Flood	DR-4229: Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides
September 14, 2013	Flood	DR-4145: Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides

Jobs and pay in El Paso County

El Paso County had 309,483 jobs in 2024, paying an average of $67,491 a year. Unemployment was 3.3% in 2023; in Fort Carson itself the ACS puts it at 3.7%.

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024, private-sector jobs and average annual pay.

Annual average unemployment rate (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics via USDA ERS).

Public schools in Fort Carson

4 public schools with 1,881 students, about 15.3 students per teacher.

School	Grades	Students	Per teacher
Carson Middle School	6-8	604	14.7
Patriot Elementary School	K-5	520	16.8
Abrams Elementary School	K-5	403	16.1
Mountainside Elementary School	K-5	354	13.6

Towns near Fort Carson

Fountain, CO
3.7 mi · 29,802 people · home $398,000
Security-Widefield, CO
4.7 mi · 38,639 people · home $387,500
Stratmoor, CO
6.0 mi · 6,518 people · home $310,000
Cimarron Hills, CO
12.2 mi · 19,311 people · home $368,000
Colorado Springs, CO
12.4 mi · 478,961 people · home $452,600
Manitou Springs, CO
14.7 mi · 4,858 people · home $561,200
Air Force Academy, CO
22.1 mi · 6,608 people · home —
Penrose, CO
22.9 mi · 3,685 people · home $308,800

Fort Carson questions

Is Fort Carson, Colorado a good place to retire?

On The Town Files lifestyle rankings, Fort Carson scores better for retirees than 1% of Colorado towns and quieter than 1%. 0.0% of residents are 65 or older (median age 22.3).

What is the weather like in Fort Carson?

July highs average 86.5°F and January lows 18.5°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). It gets about 15.9 inches of precipitation a year and 32.5 inches of snow.

Does Fort Carson get tornadoes?

14 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Fort Carson since 1950 (NOAA Storm Events); the strongest was a F2 on April 11, 1977. The typical Colorado town has had 11.

How this page is made. Every number comes from public data, matched to Fort Carson's Census boundary (GEOID 0827370). Comparisons use the median of Colorado towns with at least 500 people. Weather comes from the nearest NOAA normals station; storm counts use NOAA tornado tracks within 10 miles of the town center.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020–2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census and 2025 Gazetteer (2020 / 2025)
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals (1991–2020)
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (1950–2026)
FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations (this product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API but is not endorsed by FEMA) (1953–2026)
NCES Common Core of Data (2023–24)
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; USDA ERS county unemployment (BLS LAUS) (2000–2024)
The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025)

Data snapshot 2026-11-12.