Best Places80215, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 80215, 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.
80215 ranks 5,431st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 80215
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.
80215's strengths and weaknesses
Where 80215 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 152 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 80215 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,769 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 80215
A household needs to earn about $154,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 80215 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $101,754, 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 80215'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 and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 80215
80215's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 80215.
Who works in 80215, and how
Work in 80215 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 72%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 80215
80215 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 72% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 80215 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 80215, month by month
80215 sees roughly 152 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 80215
Denver International sits about 25 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 80215
Schools across 80215 average an A−, better than 84% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Jefferson County Open Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Stober Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Slater Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Manning Options SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- D'evelyn Junior/senior High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Lakewood High SchoolB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 80215 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
80215 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 80215 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 80215
Is 80215 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 80215 ranks 5,431st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, biking, and the weather, and lowest on air quality and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 80215 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $613,888. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $101,754 median income, cost of living beats 77% of zip codes.
Is 80215 safe?
80215 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $734 per resident a year.
Compare 80215 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 80215. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 80215 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.
80215 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 80215: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 80215: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 80215: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 80215: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
80215 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.