Moving to Carbon Valley

What you are moving to

The Carbon Valley is three towns side by side in southwest Weld County, a couple of miles east of I-25 and just north of Erie: Frederick in the middle, Firestone to the north, Dacono to the south. All three were laid out as coal towns in 1907 and 1908 (the history has the story), and since 2000 they have grown fast. The 2020 census counted 14,513 people in Frederick, 16,381 in Firestone and 6,297 in Dacono, 37,191 together, up from 22,978 in 2010. They have kept going: Frederick now puts its own population at 16,873, Firestone’s 2026 community profile says 20,762, and Dacono’s housing study used 6,816 for 2023. Firestone alone went from 1,908 people in 2000 to 10,147 in 2010, which the Town says made it the fastest-growing community in the state.

Most homes are in subdivisions built since then. The old centers are small: Frederick’s downtown is a few blocks of Fifth Street, and Firestone’s original townsite runs from First to Fourth Street between McClure and Grant avenues. The three towns share the Carbon Valley Parks and Recreation District, the regional library in Firestone and, on the first Saturday of December, one holiday festival held in three places; Frederick and Firestone also share a fire district. Water, police, trash, zoning and elections are town by town, so this guide is too where it matters.

Housing

Mostly single-family homes in subdivisions from the last twenty-five years, with some townhouses and apartments. What each town publishes:

• Frederick quotes RE/MAX Alliance figures from June 2024 in its community profile: an average single-family sale price of $569,819 and 92 days on the market.
• Firestone’s 2026 profile counts 6,525 homes and an average sale of $598,000. The Town issued 119 single-family permits and no multifamily ones in 2025.
• Dacono published the final draft of its Housing Needs Assessment on 18 September 2026. It puts the 2025 median home value at $473,263 and the median household income at $92,720, finds that about 36 percent of households spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, and estimates that the city needs about 1,910 more homes over ten years. The City Council has not yet scheduled the hearing to adopt it and its Housing Action Plan.

Before you fall for a house, ask whether it is in a homeowners’ association and a metropolitan district and what each charges, and look the address up on Weld County’s property portal: its list of Tax Authorities shows every district that taxes the house. It is also how to tell whether you are in the parks district. Not every address in the three towns is, and district residents pay less at the rec center. The listings in the sidebar show what is for sale.

Oil and gas

This is oil country, and wells sit among the houses. Frederick and Firestone both lie in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, and Frederick is in the Wattenberg Field, which the Town calls Colorado’s second-largest oil and gas field. More than 600 wells have been drilled inside Frederick’s town limits. Look up any address before you buy.

• Frederick requires a conditional use permit for any new well, and since 2025 operators must notify every property owner within half a mile of a proposed well or facility (FAQ). Under the Land Use Code in force since 1 June 2026 (Article 9), new well sites must be at least 2,000 feet from a school’s property line, unless a variance is granted, and 1,000 feet from the property line of existing homes unless the owners and tenants agree. New houses must be at least 200 feet from an existing well site, rising to 500 feet for a site with fifteen or more wells. KP Kauffman owns more than 100 of the active wells in town, almost all of them low-producing, and in June 2025 the state’s Energy & Carbon Management Commission ordered two of them plugged (Frederick’s page). The Town’s environmental constraints map, linked from its oil and gas page, shows existing wells and those being drilled.
• Firestone says many wells exist inside its limits and in unincorporated Weld County nearby. The Town forwards every notice it receives from the state commission or an operator, and its oil and gas page links the state’s data and maps. The Director of Planning & Development is the Town’s contact for the state (303-531-6276).
• Dacono requires a special use permit from the City Council for any oil and gas facility. Its rules are in Chapter 16, Article 22 of the Municipal Code, and its oil and gas page links the state’s well database.

Schools

Most of the valley is in St. Vrain Valley Schools, based in Longmont. Its Frederick feeder is Frederick High School, Coal Ridge Middle School, Thunder Valley K-8 and Centennial, Legacy and Prairie Ridge elementary schools, with the Spark! Discovery Preschool. Inside Firestone are Centennial and Prairie Ridge elementaries, Coal Ridge Middle and Imagine Charter School at Firestone. The Town’s list adds Big Sky PK-8 and Firestone Charter Academy, and says both Frederick and Mead high schools serve Firestone, so some addresses go to Mead. Dacono is in two districts: St. Vrain Valley and Weld County School District RE-8, whose Kenneth Homyak PK-8, a Core Knowledge magnet school, opened in 2018.

Schools are assigned by address, and the boundaries do not follow town lines. Use the district’s boundary lookup for any house you are considering. Open enrollment into another St. Vrain school runs 1 to 15 December 2026.

Getting around

By car. I-25 runs north–south a couple of miles west of the three old centers. Colorado 52 meets it between Frederick and Dacono and runs west toward Boulder. Firestone Boulevard meets it at Exit 240 as Colorado 119, the road to Longmont. Frederick’s profile counts Denver International Airport 28 minutes away and Boulder 22 miles, and calls its I-25 interchange at Colorado 52 one of the busiest in northern Colorado, on a stretch of interstate that carries more than 100,000 vehicles a day.

Transit is thin:

• Bustang. The state’s North Line between Fort Collins and Denver stops at the Firestone–Longmont Mobility Hub at Exit 240, with a 269-space park-and-ride on the east side of the interstate.
• RTD. Its Park-n-Rides and FlexRide zones stop short of the valley; the nearest are in Longmont and at Highway 119 and Niwot.
• Via Mobility Services runs rides paid for by the towns for residents who qualify. In Firestone they run weekdays from 8 to 3:30; in Dacono they run within the city and to Firestone, Frederick, Erie and Boulder County.
• A study. The three towns have studied whether the valley needs transit of its own, with a state grant.

On foot and by bike, Frederick counts 21 miles of trails. The Firestone Trail runs about 12 miles from Settlers Park to Coronado Park on an old coal railroad bed, and links to the St. Vrain Legacy Trail and the Colorado Front Range Trail.

Utilities, trash, fire, police

Sewer is the St. Vrain Sanitation District in all three towns. Most of the rest depends on which town you live in.

Frederick

• Water comes from the Town east of I-25 and from the Left Hand Water District west of it. Start water, trash and stormwater with the Town’s Utility Agreement form through Utility Billing, 720-382-5500. Renters’ bills go to the landlord.
• Trash and recycling are a Town contract with Waste Connections (details). Collection is on Fridays east of I-25 and Tuesdays west of it. To start service, call Waste Connections on 303-288-2100 and the Town.
• Electricity is United Power, and natural gas is Black Hills Energy.
• Police is the Frederick Police Department at 333 Fifth Street; non-emergency 720-652-4222.
• Fire and emergency medical is the Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District, 8426 Kosmerl Place, 303-833-2742.

Firestone

• Water and stormwater are billed by the Town. Apply online or at Town Hall, 9950 Park Avenue, 303-833-3291 (Utility Billing). In Barefoot Lakes the water comes from the Little Thompson Water District and the stormwater from the Town.
• Sewer is the St. Vrain Sanitation District. The Town has filed an eminent domain action against the district, which says service continues uninterrupted.
• Electricity, gas and trash providers are not named on the Town’s site, so ask the seller or the HOA.
• Police is the Firestone Police Department at 9900 Park Avenue, 303-833-0811. After hours, dispatch is 720-652-4222.
• Fire and emergency medical is the Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District.

Dacono

• Water comes from the City. The base charge for a standard home, which includes trash and a capital improvement fee, is $62.65. The property owner starts service with the City’s Residence/Utility Form.
• Trash and recycling are Waste Connections, weekly for trash and every other week for recycling, at $12.30 a month (details). To start, call the City on 303-833-2317 and Waste Connections on 303-288-2100.
• Electricity is United Power, and natural gas is Black Hills Energy.
• Police is the Dacono Police Department, 512 Cherry Avenue, Building B; non-emergency 303-833-3095.
• Fire and emergency medical is Mountain View Fire Rescue, from Station 7 at 161 Perry Lane. It also serves Erie, Mead and Niwot.

Government

Three governments, three calendars.

Frederick is a statutory town with a council-manager government. The Mayor and Board of Trustees meet on the first and third Wednesdays at 7 pm, with work sessions at 5:30, and Town Hall is at 401 Locust Street. On the 3 November 2026 ballot are two Town questions for roads (2D and 2E):

• 2D raises the sales and use tax by one percent from 1 January 2027, which the Town estimates would raise about $3.8 million in the first full year and cost the average household about $10 a month.
• 2E allows up to $26 million of debt, with a maximum repayment of $57 million.

Voters have moved Town elections to November of even-numbered years, so the next regular one is in November 2028.

Firestone is a council-manager town with a mayor elected for two years and six trustees for four. The Board of Trustees holds work sessions on the second Wednesday and regular meetings on the third, and Town Hall is at 9950 Park Avenue. After resignations and recalls, six seats are on this November’s ballot, the mayor’s and five trustees’. The mayoral candidates are Scott Franks and Scott Nahman, and it is the first Town election run with Weld County (candidates).

Dacono is a home-rule city with a mayor and six councilmembers, all elected at large for three years. The City Council meets at 6 pm on the second and fourth Mondays in the Annex, 512 Cherry Avenue, Building C. The city’s November 2026 election was canceled, and Doris Crespo and Bob Vince were declared elected. The Council Chambers is a county voter service and polling center for the general election.

Living here

The Carbon Valley Recreation Center on Fifth Street in Frederick serves all three towns, with a lap pool, a lazy river and a 55,000-square-foot building. The Carbon Valley Regional Library on Park Avenue in Firestone is open until 8 pm Monday to Thursday. St. Vrain State Park is inside Firestone’s limits, the only Colorado state park annexed into a town. In autumn 2026 both Frederick and Firestone are under Stage 1 water restrictions, so read the watering rules before you seed a lawn.

The year runs like this:

• Summer: Firestone’s Carbon Valley Kids Day and Dacono’s Boot Scoot’n Bash in June, and Frederick in Flight, the balloon festival at Centennial Park, at the end of the month.
• September: Frederick’s Miners Day, with a parade, a burro race and fireworks.
• October: Frights on Fifth downtown in Frederick, and Firestone’s Halloween Safe Night.
• December: the Carbon Valley Holiday Festival on the first Saturday, across all three towns, with the Festival of Lights at Crist Park.
• Saturday nights, April to September: stock-car racing at Colorado National Speedway in Dacono.

The events page has what is on this week, and Frederick, Firestone and Dacono each have their own page.