Ridgway

Ridgway, Colorado is located in the southwestern part of the state, about 1/2 an hour south of Montrose. This town of only 928 lies at an elevation of 6,985 feet, and has some pretty incredible views, mostly of Mt. Sneffels. Since the town lies directly on the intersection of Highway 62 and 550 there is a lot of tourist traffic in the area considering some of the great spots to visit in Colorado are relatively close by. In addition to producing the Grammy Awards here, Ridgway also has several famous residents. Ralph Lauren, the fashion designer has a home here as well as Charles Ergen, founder of EchoStar, Danny Thompson, race care driver, and Peter Hessler, writer for both The New Yorker and National Geographic.

The main industry in Ridgway is construction, followed by accommodation and food services. The median household income is $56,798, and although this is about average for Colorado, the home prices here are pretty high with a median average of $386,209. This number is a bit inflated due to some of the properties in the outer lying areas which are on some acreage and have some pretty nice homes on them.

The schools in Ridgway all have above average results on testing standards, with the high school getting the highest marks. This is impressive as it typically works the other way, with scores dropping off as students get older.

Overall, I think this would be a great little town to live in. There are some great properties, scenic views, and enough restaurants to not make the residents want to leave just for a bite to eat. The people are friendly and there is a ton of outdoor activities nearby.