Colorado Springs is the closest major city to the USAF Academy. It has about 416,000 people, and is in El Paso County, which has a population of about 630,000 people. Other nearby small communities include Monument (about 5,500) to the north, Palmer Lake (about 2,500) even further north, and various unincorporated towns, including Gleneagle, Woodmoor, and Black Forest.

It is about 15 miles from downtown Colorado Springs to the Academy; this takes about 15 minutes to commute, but the city covers a large area and travel times can vary significantly. The average commute in El Paso County is about 25 minutes.

Major local employers are military bases and other government jobs, including Fort Carson, and Schriever and Peterson Air Force Bases, and the city and county, and Memorial and Penrose-St. Francis Health Services. There are also defense industry employers, including Boeing, General Dynamics, Harris Corporation, ITT, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and SAIC, and several high tech manufacturers and software developers for the consumer and business markets. There are also thriving service businesses supporting these sectors.

Local Housing Rental Prices: The average apartment rent in the Colorado Springs area ranges from $550 to $1000 per month, with a median of $775 per month.

Local Housing Purchase Prices: The average price for a house in Colorado Springs is about $213,000, compared to $236,000 for Colorado. The average price for a house in El Paso County is about $217,000.

Short Description of the Area: Colorado Springs is the second largest city in Colorado, near the center of the state, with an urban center near the Rocky Mountains to the west, the Colorado plains to the east, and desert to the south. Air can be thin for people coming from sea level; the city is over a mile high.

Climate and Weather: The area has a semi-arid climate, winter temperatures of high 20s to mid-30s and summer temperatures in the mid 70s-high 80s. The area has little rain or snow, but the nearby mountains do get a lot of snow and there are local ski resorts. Summers can be hot, but most of the annual rain comes in the later summer. Winters are somewhat cold, with moderate snowfall. Colorado Springs and the surrounding area have frequent thunderstorms, and this is one of the best places in the country to see lightning. Overall the area is sunny and bright year round.

Religion: Colorado Springs has an active religious community, including Charismatic, Catholic, Protestant, LDS (Mormon) populations, and a large percentage of "Other."

Local Trivia:
TV shows Stargate SG-1 and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman are partly set here, as were the movies WarGames and The Prestige.

The Colorado Springs area was once the location of Nikola Tesla's laboratory; he was studying lightning and wireless power transmission.