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Inside Erie

Moving here

Moving to Erie

What it is like to move to a coal town of 30,000 that grew two-thirds in a decade, split across two counties and two school districts: housing, the commute, who sends which bill, and where the trails are.

What you are moving to

Erie is a home-rule town of about 30,000 people (2020 census) on the Boulder–Weld county line, twenty minutes from Boulder and thirty-five from Denver and its airport, on the plateau between Coal Creek and I-25. It was Colorado’s coal capital for eighty years and a farm town of a few thousand for the forty after that; then it grew 66 percent between 2010 and 2020 and kept going. Most of the town is subdivisions built since 2000, in every direction, with a compact historic downtown on Briggs Street that has filled up with restaurants and breweries in the last decade. Fifty-eight percent of residents live on the Weld County side, which includes downtown and Town Hall; the rest are in Boulder County.

Housing

Mostly single-family homes in master-planned neighborhoods: Vista Ridge, Erie Highlands, Flatiron Meadows, Colliers Hill, Erie Commons, Morgan Hill, Parkdale and others, most with metropolitan districts and homeowners’ associations whose fees and mill levies vary a lot. The old grid around Briggs Street has the small houses from the mining era. The 2020 census counted 10,047 households with a median household income of $99,804. The listings sites in the sidebar show what is for sale; ask which county, which school district and which metro district before you fall for a house, because all three change from one street to the next.

Schools

Most of Erie is in St. Vrain Valley Schools, based in Longmont: Erie, Red Hawk and Black Rock elementaries, Soaring Heights PK-8, Erie Middle School and Erie High School (the Tigers), plus Aspen Ridge Preparatory charter. The Boulder County side is in the Boulder Valley School District, which runs Meadowlark PK-8 in Erie and feeds Angevine Middle and Centaurus High in Lafayette. The Town’s schools page lists them all, with the private options.

Getting around

By car. Arapahoe Road and Colorado 7 (Baseline Road) run west to Boulder in about twenty minutes; Erie Parkway and Colorado 52 reach I-25 in ten, and from there Denver is about thirty-five minutes and Denver International Airport about the same by E-470. US 287 runs along the west edge toward Longmont and Broomfield. There is little transit; nearly every trip is by car or bike. The town’s own trail network along Coal Creek connects the neighborhoods to downtown and the Community Center off-road.

Utilities, trash, fire, police

  • Water and sewer are Town of Erie utilities; start service through Utility Billing at Town Hall, 303-926-2700.
  • Electricity is Xcel Energy or United Power, depending on the address.
  • Natural gas is Xcel Energy or Black Hills Energy, again by address.
  • Trash, recycling and compost are private. The Town does not run collection; pick from its list of licensed haulers (Republic, Waste Connections, Waste Management, Western Disposal, One Way, Wompost for compost), and check your HOA first, since many neighborhoods contract one hauler.
  • Police is the Erie Police Department at 1000 Telleen Avenue; non-emergency 303-441-4444.
  • Fire and emergency medical response is Mountain View Fire Rescue, a separate district that also serves Niwot, Mead and Dacono.
  • Building permits, planning and zoning are Town departments; the Planning Commission meets on the first and third Wednesdays.

Government

Erie is a home-rule town with a Town Council of a mayor and six members and an appointed Town Manager. Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays at 6:30 pm at Town Hall in the old Lincoln School, streamed live. The Town Manager position is being filled in autumn 2026, with a public meet-and-greet of the finalists on September 28. Boards for planning, parks and trails, historic preservation, sustainability, trees and the airport are filled by application.

Living here

Summer is the Thursday farmers market on Briggs Street from May to mid-September, the splash pads at Coal Creek and Lehigh parks, the lazy river at the Community Center, Town Fair and the fireworks. Fall is Tails & Ales at the dog park, Brewfest and Boo! on Briggs Street downtown, and the corn maze at Anderson Farms. Winter is the Parade of Lights on the first Friday of December, the rink at Coal Creek Park, and the sledding hill at Community Park. Year-round there is trivia and music at the Old Mine, the singletrack on the north side, and a walk around Thomas Reservoir at sunset.