Best Places80234, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 80234, 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.
80234 ranks 7,494th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 80234
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.
80234's strengths and weaknesses
Where 80234 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 80234 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,593 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 80234
A household needs to earn about $142,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 80234 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $109,646, 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 80234's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 80234
80234 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 80234.
Who works in 80234, and how
Work in 80234 centers on retail trade and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 80234
80234 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 91% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 80234 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 80234, month by month
80234 sees roughly 117 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 80234
Denver International sits about 18 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 80234
Schools across 80234 average a C−, better than 25% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hulstrom Options K-8 SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Meridian Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Silver Creek ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Westlake Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Rocky Top Middle SchoolB+ · 47% proficient
- Century Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Legacy High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Mountain Range High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Northglenn High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 80234 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
80234 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 80234 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 80234 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 87% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 80234
Is 80234 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 80234 ranks 7,494th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, biking, and population health, 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 80234 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $558,242. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $109,646 median income, cost of living beats 87% of zip codes.
Is 80234 safe?
80234 is safer than 32% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $549 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 80234?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 25. That works out to about 117 pleasant days a year, more than 74% of zip codes.
Is 80234 good for families?
Schools beat 25% of zip codes, crime safety beats 32%, and childcare runs $1,593 a month.
Compare 80234 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 80234. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 80234 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.
80234 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 80234: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 80234: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 80234: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 80234: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
80234 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.