The City of Centennial is a Home Rule Municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado. Part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, Centennial was incorporated in 2001 and the population of the area at over 100,000 made it the largest incorporation in U.S. history as of its creation. Centennial was chosen in 2008 as the site of the first IKEA store in Colorado - the second-largest IKEA store in the United States. 

What is the community of Centennial like?  

Ranked by Niche as the 3rd best suburb to buy a house in the Denver area, Centennial is a bustling city home to around 110,900 people and 28 constituent neighborhoods, making it the tenth-largest community in Colorado. The city is named Centennial in honor of Colorado's admission into the United States during the country's centennial year in 1876. 
As one of Colorado’s largest communities, Centennial offers a plethora of exciting outdoor recreational opportunities such as pristine parks, museums, restaurants, shopping destinations, as well as extremely safe surroundings. Among its various parks, the Centennial Central Park is arguably the crown jewel of Centennial’s Park system.  
Spanning over 11 acres, the Centennial Central Park is an award-winning park located adjacent to the city's Centennial Civic Center. The Park showcases a unique layout meant to convey the passage of time, developed through a variety of arch, curve, and spiral elements within the park's structures and features. kids love the park for its two playgrounds, three climbing walls, and a nautilus-themed water play area open during the summer months. In addition, a gorgeous outdoor amphitheater with a seating capacity of over 5000 hosts a myriad of interactive events and performances throughout the year.  
Centennial is also home to an immersive shopping center, the Streets at SouthGlenn. Opened to the public in 2009, the shopping center is home to more than 80 stores and restaurants, including anchor department stores such as Macy's, Sears, Marshalls, Staples, and Best Buy. Other nationally recognized chains located in the shopping center include apparel stores H&M and Old Navy, beauty retailer Sephora, kitchen store Sur La Table, and outdoor goods retailer Dick's Sporting Goods. 
If you are looking for a unique recreational experience, the Topgolf Centennial is the place to be. This exciting entertainment venue offers more than 100 climate-controlled golfing bays set over three floors of an indoor golfing center, with high-tech driving range elements offered for visitor use.  

What is Real Estate like in Centennial?     

Real estate in Centennial has shown an average growth of 3.74% per year since the year 2000. since 2000, the prices of homes in Centennial have overall appreciated by a strong 116.16%. National real estate firm RE/MAX categorizes Centennial’s housing market as ‘most competitive.' The sale prices of homes in Centennial have experienced strong growth of more than 28.5% since May last year.   
The median home price in Centennial is $547,000. Currently, there are 257 active homes for sale in Centennial, and normally it takes around 57 days for a listed home to sell. Moreover, the average cost to rent a house in Centennial is $2,568 per month. At present, there are 39,851 homes and apartments in the city, 80.5% of which are owned, and the remaining 19.5% are rented.      

How is the economic landscape of Centennial?    

Over the last year, Centennial’s job market has grown by 2.8%, while its unemployment rate stands at a decent 5.8%. The US average is 6%. Also, the city’s job market is expected to grow by a staggering 42.5% over the next ten years.  
On average, a Centennial resident earns around $41,300 per annum, substantially higher than the US average of $28500. The city’s median household income of almost $90,000 per resident is also much greater than the US average of approximately $53000. Most of the residents of Centennial work in construction, manufacturing, retail, finance, information, educational services, accommodation, professional and technical services, and healthcare.  

How are the schools in Centennial?     

Centennial is covered by 2 school districts, with Cherry Creek Public Schools being the city’s major school district encompassing 60 schools and 54,228 enrolled students. Centennial also lies in proximity to many colleges including, among others, Platt College Aurora, Arapahoe Community College, and College America Denver.  
When it comes to higher education, Centennial lies in the vicinity of many universities prominent among them being the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder). The CU Boulder is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system and was founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state. The university comprises nine colleges and schools, offers over 150 academic programs, and enrolled almost 35,528 students in 2018.  
In addition, five Nobel Laureates, nine MacArthur Fellows, and 20 astronauts have been affiliated with CU Boulder as students, researchers, or faculty members in its history. CU Boulder has been called a Public Ivy, a group of publicly funded universities considered as providing a quality of education comparable to those of the Ivy League. 

Centennial in a nutshell        

To sum up, Centennial is a thriving community that enjoys all the modern urban amenities and unique outdoor recreational opportunities just a skip away from the bustling capital city of Colorado, Denver. The city is home to pristine parks, immersive shopping centers, unique sports facilities, and offers easy access to incredible educational facilities. If you are mulling over moving to Colorado, Centennial would definitely make a great place to call home.