Best Places80126, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 80126, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
80126 ranks 205th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 80126
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.
80126's strengths and weaknesses
Where 80126 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$177,234 median, better than 98% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 80126 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,607 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 80126
A household needs to earn about $203,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 80126 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $177,234, 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 80126's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 80126
80126 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 80126.
Who works in 80126, and how
Work in 80126 centers on professional & technical 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 65%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 80126
80126 has more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 80126 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 80126, month by month
80126 sees roughly 151 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 31° | 18° |
| April | 64° | 48° | 32° |
| July | 90° | 74° | 59° |
| October | 69° | 52° | 36° |
Flying in and out of 80126
Denver International sits about 27 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 80126
Schools across 80126 average a B+, better than 78% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northridge Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Stone Mountain ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Heritage Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ranch View Middle SchoolA− · 52% proficient
- Mountain Ridge Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Cresthill Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Mountain Vista High SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- Thunderridge High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- Highlands Ranch High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 80126 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
80126 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 80126 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 80126 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 100% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 33% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 90% of zip codes and health care access beats 56%.
Common questions about living in 80126
Is 80126 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 80126 ranks 205th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and population health, 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 80126 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $807,481. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $177,234 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 80126 safe?
Yes, 80126 is safer than 73% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $343 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 80126?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 18. That works out to about 151 pleasant days a year, more than 90% of zip codes.
Is 80126 good for families?
Schools beat 78% of zip codes, crime safety beats 73%, and childcare runs $1,607 a month.
Compare 80126 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 80126. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 80126 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.
80126 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 80126: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 80126: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 80126: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 80126: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
80126 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.