Best Places80003, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 80003, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
80003 ranks 9,982nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 80003
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
80003's strengths and weaknesses
Where 80003 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 80003 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,742 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 80003
A household needs to earn about $133,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 80003 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $96,584, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 80003's effective rate of 0.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 80003
80003 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 80003.
Who works in 80003, and how
Work in 80003 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 80003
80003 has more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 75% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 80003 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 80003, month by month
80003 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 63° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 89° | 75° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 80003
Denver International sits about 21 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 40.1 million passengers in 2025, with 250 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 80003
Schools across 80003 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hackberry Hill Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Jefferson County Open Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Secrest Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Manning Options SchoolA · 65% proficient
- North Arvada Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Shaw Heights Middle SchoolF · 5% proficient
Top high schools
- D'evelyn Junior/senior High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Pomona High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
- Westminster High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 80003 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
80003 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 80003 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 80003 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 22% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 80003
Is 80003 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 80003 ranks 9,982nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, heat safety, and transit, and lowest on childcare costs and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 80003 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $528,193. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $96,584 median income, cost of living beats 70% of zip codes.
Is 80003 safe?
80003 is safer than 22% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $610 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 80003?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 25. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of zip codes.
Is 80003 good for families?
Schools beat 68% of zip codes, crime safety beats 22%, and childcare runs $1,742 a month.
Compare 80003 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 80003. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 80003 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
80003 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 80003: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 80003: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 80003: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 80003: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
80003 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.