Littleton vs Englewood: Where Should You Buy a Home?

The Short Answer

Choose Littleton if you want a historic main street, a choice of two light rail stations and easy access to the parks along the South Platte River. Choose Englewood if you want to be closer to Denver, near a major hospital district, in a city that runs its own water utility and recreation centers. In both, the exact address decides more than the city name does.

Check the City Limits First

This is the most important thing to know about these two names. The City of Littleton says plainly that a Littleton mailing address does not mean a home is inside the city limits. Littleton addresses reach well into unincorporated Jefferson and Douglas counties, and the city limits themselves are irregular and touch three counties. The city has an Address Wizard for checking whether a home gets city services.

Englewood has the same issue. The city itself uses ZIP codes 80110 and 80113, but those are shared with Sheridan and Cherry Hills Village. ZIP codes 80111 and 80112 also carry the Englewood name, and the city says those addresses are not in Englewood at all: they are in places like Greenwood Village, Centennial and unincorporated Arapahoe and Douglas counties. So a home listed as "Littleton" or "Englewood" may have a different government, tax bill and school district than you expect.

Two Old Towns With Different Stories

Littleton takes its name from Richard Little, an engineer who came west to work on irrigation systems. Its depot opened in 1872 as a stop on the Denver and Rio Grande railroad, and it was incorporated in 1890. Today it is the seat of Arapahoe County and home to the Littleton Main Street Historic District, the Town Hall Arts Center, the Littleton Museum and Hudson Gardens. The city grew quickly in the 1950s and 1960s, partly because of the Martin Marietta plants that built the Titan rocket.

Englewood traces its founding to Thomas Skerritt, who settled there in 1860, and it was incorporated in 1903. For years its Cherrelyn horsecar was pulled up Broadway by a horse and rolled back down by gravity. The Cinderella City mall opened in 1968 and was torn down about 30 years later. Its site is now a transit-oriented district with the Civic Center, the library and the light rail station. The housing varies by area: the oldest homes are in the northwest, some from the 1910s, while Hampden Hills has many apartment complexes. Englewood also has Arapahoe Acres, a historic subdivision of 124 homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Schools: The District Follows the Address

Most of Littleton is in Littleton Public Schools, which runs Arapahoe, Heritage and Littleton high schools and also serves parts of Centennial, Greenwood Village and Englewood. Most of Englewood is in Englewood Schools, a district of about 2,440 students, with Englewood High School and Colorado's Finest High School of Choice.

The borders overlap. Small parts of Littleton are in the Englewood and Sheridan districts, and small parts of Englewood are in the Littleton and Sheridan districts. Homes with a Littleton address farther out can be in Jeffco Public Schools or the Douglas County School District. Tamila checks the district for every address before you tour it.

Getting Around on the D Line

Both cities are on the RTD D Line, which runs from Littleton-Mineral to 18th and California in downtown Denver. Littleton has two stations: Littleton-Mineral, the south end of the line near Aspen Grove, and Littleton-Downtown, at the west edge of downtown. Englewood station is closer to Denver, two stops north of Littleton-Downtown with Oxford-City of Sheridan in between, and it serves the old Cinderella City site. Light rail service began at both Littleton-Downtown and Englewood in July 2000.

Water, Lead Lines and Who Runs What

Here the two cities really differ. Littleton does not run a water utility: its drinking water comes from Denver Water, and residents hire private companies for trash pickup. Englewood runs Englewood Utilities, which gets most of its water from the Platte River, so drought rules for watering come from the city. Englewood households also arrange trash pickup with a licensed private hauler. Both cities co-own South Platte Renew, the wastewater plant.

If you are looking at an older home, ask about the water service line in either city. Englewood Utilities pays to replace lead or galvanized steel lines from the main to the first connection inside the house, as long as funds are available, and it checks homes built before 1960 zone by zone. An owner who declines may later pay for the replacement, which the city says can cost up to $12,000. Englewood has an address search on its Service Line Inventory Map. Denver Water has a similar lead program with no direct charge to enrolled customers and its own inventory map, and its 2026 to 2031 work map includes Littleton neighborhoods. Its timing can change, so ask for the current status of the address.

Englewood also publishes its PFAS monitoring results for drinking water and says it is on track to meet the federal limits before the April 2029 deadline.

Flood Maps Along the South Platte

Littleton has a large natural floodplain park along the South Platte River, which is a real asset. The city also manages mapped floodplains on the river and on Big Dry Creek, Slaughterhouse Gulch, Little's Creek and Lee Gulch, and it says the greatest threat is on the smaller tributaries. A major flood hit the South Platte in 1965. Englewood recommends flood insurance for everyone, especially near a mapped floodplain, and points residents to the Mile High Flood District map. Standard homeowners policies do not cover flood losses, so look up any home you are serious about in either city.

Zoning, ADUs and Metro Districts

If you are buying with a plan to add an accessory dwelling unit or a second unit, read this first. In November 2025, Littleton voters passed Ballot Question 3A, a charter amendment that sets residential zoning at its January 1, 2025 rules and makes it harder for the city to start zoning changes. Individual owners can still ask to rezone their own property. Before the vote, city officials warned it could conflict with state law on ADUs. Ask the planning department of the city where the home is what is allowed today, and do not count on rental income from a unit until you have that answer.

Also ask for the full property tax bill on any home in a newer development in either area. A metro district is a special taxing district that pays for streets, water lines and parks in a new subdivision, and its tax can change your monthly payment. Our Colorado mortgage calculator has a separate field for it.

Hospitals and Employers

Englewood's economy leans on its hospital district. HCA HealthONE Swedish is a 504-bed hospital with a Level I trauma and burn center, and Craig Hospital specializes in rehabilitation after spinal cord and brain injuries. Those two led the city's 2023 list of top employers. Littleton has AdventHealth Littleton on South Broadway, a Level II trauma center, along with Arapahoe Community College beside the downtown station and most Arapahoe County government offices.

What to Watch for When You Buy

• Both: confirm the home is really inside the city limits, then check the county, school district and tax bill for the exact address.
• Older homes in both: ask about the water service line, and order a sewer scope along with your inspection.
• Both: look up the address on the Mile High Flood District map, and price flood insurance if it is near a mapped floodplain.
• Littleton: if you plan to add a unit, ask the city what the rules allow since Ballot Question 3A.

Buying an Older Home or an Investment Property

Many homes in these two cities are decades old, and some need work. Tamila is both the agent and the loan officer, with FHA 203(k) and HomeStyle renovation loans among her programs, along with FHA, VA, USDA and conventional loans. She offers programs for credit scores from 500 and options with no credit score, plus DSCR loans for investors based on the rental income of the property. Every situation is different, so just ask.

Already Own a Home?

If you are selling a home on the Front Range and buying your next one in Littleton or Englewood, Tamila can handle both sides. When you sell and buy with her, her listing fee is 1% instead of the usual up to 3% (the buyer's agent is paid separately). She is also a mortgage loan officer licensed in Colorado and Florida, so the sale, the purchase and the loan are handled by one person.

Sources

• Littleton, Colorado (Wikipedia: 2020 census, county seat, incorporation, history, schools, stations, attractions)
• Englewood, Colorado (Wikipedia: 2020 census, incorporation, history, schools, neighborhoods, hospitals, employers)
• New to Littleton: city limits, addresses, providers (City of Littleton)
• Littleton ZIP codes (City of Littleton)
• ZIP code clarification (City of Englewood)
• General FAQ: ZIP codes and trash service (City of Englewood)
• Littleton Public Schools (Wikipedia)
• Heritage High School (Wikipedia: Littleton Public Schools high schools)
• Englewood Schools (Wikipedia)
• D Line (RTD) (Wikipedia)
• Englewood station (RTD) (Wikipedia)
• Littleton-Downtown station (Wikipedia)
• Littleton water supply (City of Littleton)
• Utilities, including South Platte Renew (City of Littleton)
• Englewood stands alone without mandatory water restrictions (Denver7, May 2026)
• Lead service line replacement (City of Englewood)
• Lead Reduction Program FAQ (City of Englewood)
• Lead Reduction Program FAQ (Denver Water)
• Lead Reduction Program 2026-2031 work areas map (Denver Water)
• PFAS in drinking water (City of Englewood, updated April 2025)
• City of Littleton: floodplain park and South Platte Renew (Chatfield Watershed Authority)
• Flood information (City of Littleton)
• Flood hazard information (City of Englewood)
• Littleton passes 3A: unofficial results, November 2025 (Littleton Independent)
• Littleton charter amendment would lock in zoning rules (Colorado Newsline, 2025)
• Littleton housing measure 3A and state law (CBS Colorado, November 2025)
• Metro districts: resident impact (City of Arvada)
• AdventHealth Littleton (Wikipedia)
• HCA HealthONE Swedish (Wikipedia)
• Craig Hospital (Wikipedia)
• Littleton Fire Department merges into South Metro Fire Rescue (CBS Colorado)
• Englewood fire department closes after 108 years (FireRescue1)
• Parks, recreation, library and golf (City of Englewood)
• 5280 neighborhood guide: Englewood, Arapahoe Acres (5280 Magazine, 2017)

Facts checked November 2, 2026. Taxes, school boundaries and programs change; verify for a specific address.