Highlands Ranch
Highlands Ranch is known to be one of the most progressive Master Planned communities in the county. Now nearly complete, Highlands Ranch encompasses approximately 100,830 residents, occupying 31,510 homes. Sixty one percent of the community is devoted to non-urban uses such as open space and recreation, 31 percent is residential properties, and business properties encompass the final eight percent.
Highlands Ranch is located 12 miles south of Denver in Douglas County and offers a wonderful quality of life and opportunities for an active lifestyle. Boasting 26 parks, and over 70 miles of trails in addition to the trail and park system, Highlands Ranch has set aside more than 2,500 acres of undeveloped land within the community for exploring in addition to 8,200 acres of conservation space in the Backcountry Wilderness Area.
Highlands Ranch has received national recognition for its great quality of life and amenities. The community has been named by NerdWallet as one of the best places to raise families in Colorado, recognized nationally by Forbes as one of the top places to move in the nation. Business Week also named Highlands Ranch one of the best places to raise kids.
Discover the community
Commuting from Highlands Ranch
Air – Highlands Ranch is approximately 40 minutes from Denver International Airport and 20 minutes from Centennial Airport
Auto – C-470 runs east and west near the northern boundary of Highlands Ranch, with five interchanges: C-470 connects with I-25 providing north and south access through Colorado’s Front Range business region, and with I-70, which runs east and west through the Rocky Mountains. U.S. 85, a north/south highway, generally borders the property on the west. E-470 permits travel around the east side of the Denver metro area providing easy access to Denver International Airport.
Bus – The Regional Transportation District (RTD) provides express bus service to downtown Denver and surrounding communities and offers two park-n-Ride facilities in Highlands Ranch with quick and easy access to light rail at Mineral and Santa Fe. With the passage of RTD’s FasTracks project, RTD will extend light rail to Lucent Blvd. in Highlands Ranch by 2016.
Working in Highlands Ranch
Highlands Ranch is currently home to more than 2,000 businesses employing in excess of 19,000 people, many of who live right in the community.
In 2021, jobs in Douglas County increased 2.2%, and businesses increased 8.8%.
Businesses in Highlands Ranch include RingCentral, Fast Enterprises, Newmont, Lucent, Avaya, and Zillow. Sales tax is about 5.0% lower than the U.S. average of 7.3% so many companies have made the move there.
The business community is supported by the Chamber of Commerce of Highlands Ranch (www.highlandsranchchamber.org).
Being an unincorporated part of the county, the area enjoys one of the lower tax rates in South Metropolitan Denver.
Schools in Highlands Ranch
Highlands Ranch is a part of the Douglas County School District. It has been recognized as one of the best in the country and you can choose from over 20 schools in the area. There are various types of schools to choose from whether you’re looking for a public, neighborhood-zoned school, or charter school.
