Englewood, CO

Englewood has a bit of a split personality, and that’s exactly what makes it interesting. It’s an older, established suburb just south of Denver that feels more like a working-class town than a bedroom community, with a downtown strip (South Broadway) that’s equal parts dive bar, taco joint, and antique shop. You won’t find the polished, master-planned feel of Highlands Ranch or the trendy, high-rise energy of downtown Denver—instead, you get a place where people have been around for decades, where the high school football game on a Friday night still matters, and where the cost of living, while high by national standards, is noticeably more reasonable than in the neighborhoods to the north.

The Daily Rhythm: What Life Actually Looks Like

Most mornings, you’ll see folks grabbing coffee at a local spot like Moe’s Broadway Bagel or the Englewood Grand before heading to work—the average commute here is about 23 minutes, which is short by Denver metro standards and means you can actually get home in time to grill dinner. The median age is 37, and the median income sits at $82,016, which puts you in a solidly middle-class bracket where people work as nurses, tradespeople, small business owners, or remote professionals who chose Englewood for the price. Weekends often revolve around the Englewood Rec Center (a massive, well-used facility with pools and a climbing wall), hitting the South Platte River trail for a bike ride, or wandering the antique malls on Broadway. There’s a real sense of “we do our own thing” here—you’re not trying to keep up with the neighbors, because the neighbors are too busy fixing up their 1950s ranch house or coaching Little League.

Sports, Community, and the Things That Bring People Together

High school sports are a genuine centerpiece of community life. Englewood High School (the Pirates) draws a loyal crowd for Friday night football, and the rivalry with nearby Littleton still gets people talking. There’s no major pro team in town, but you’re a 15-minute drive from Coors Field (Rockies) and Empower Field at Mile High (Broncos), so game-day traffic is a thing but not a daily headache. The big annual event is the Englewood Arts Festival in August, which shuts down Broadway and brings out local artists, food trucks, and live music. For a smaller city (population 33,774), the Gothic Theatre is a surprising gem—a historic venue that books national touring acts in rock, indie, and metal, and it’s cheap enough that you can see a show without planning a whole night around it. The Englewood Brewery and 3 Freaks Brewery are the go-to spots for a post-work beer, and they’re the kind of places where you’ll end up talking to the person next to you.

What’s There to Do (and What’s Missing)

The outdoor access is solid but not spectacular. You’ve got Jason Park and Centennial Park for soccer fields and playgrounds, and the High Line Canal Trail runs right through town for walking or biking. But serious hiking or mountain biking means driving 30-40 minutes west to the foothills (Waterton Canyon or Roxborough State Park). The real draw is the South Broadway corridor, which is a mile-long stretch of quirky, independent businesses: Joy Wine & Spirits for a bottle shop with personality, Senor Burritos for late-night Mexican food, and Englewood Antiques for a Saturday afternoon treasure hunt. The Englewood Civic Center hosts a farmers market in summer that’s more about community than crowds. What’s missing? A proper sit-down restaurant scene—you’ll find plenty of good casual spots, but if you want a date-night steakhouse or a trendy cocktail bar, you’re heading to Denver or Cherry Creek.

Pros and Cons of Living Here

• Pro: Affordability (relatively speaking). The median home value is $534,000, which is about $100K less than the Denver average. You can still find a fixer-upper ranch house on a decent lot for under $500K, which is almost unheard of in the metro area. The cost of living index is 156 (56% above the US average), but that’s still a bargain compared to Boulder or downtown Denver.
• Con: Crime is a real concern. The violent crime rate is 653.5 per 100,000 residents, which is roughly double the national average and noticeably higher than neighboring suburbs like Littleton or Centennial. Property crime (car break-ins, package theft) is also an issue, especially near the Broadway corridor. Longtime residents will tell you it’s block-by-block—some streets feel perfectly safe, others you’d avoid after dark.
• Pro: The commute is genuinely manageable. At 23 minutes average, you can get to downtown Denver in 15 minutes without traffic, to the Denver Tech Center in 20, and to the mountains in 40. That’s a huge quality-of-life win.
• Con: Schools are a mixed bag. Englewood Public Schools serve the city, and while the elementary schools are generally fine, the high school has lower test scores and fewer AP offerings than nearby districts like Littleton or Cherry Creek. Many families with school-aged kids either go private or move by middle school—it’s an open secret among locals.
• Pro: You get a real neighborhood feel. People know their neighbors, there’s a strong sense of local identity (the “Englewood” bumper stickers are everywhere), and you’re not surrounded by cookie-cutter housing. It’s a place where you can actually afford to buy a home and still have money left over for a life.