Best Places80421, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 80421, 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.
80421 ranks 12,932nd 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 80421
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.
80421's strengths and weaknesses
Where 80421 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 152 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 80421 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute41.1 minutes each way, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,504 a month, better than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 80421
A household needs to earn about $140,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 80421 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $105,179, 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 80421's effective rate of 0.40%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 80421
80421 runs older than the country, 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 80421.
Who works in 80421, and how
Work in 80421 centers on construction and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 80421
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 80421.
What the weather is like in 80421, month by month
80421 sees roughly 152 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 68 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs July.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 20° | 14° |
| April | 42° | 32° | 25° |
| July | 68° | 56° | 48° |
| October | 49° | 38° | 31° |
Flying in and out of 80421
Denver International sits about 51 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 80421
Schools across 80421 average a B, better than 66% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Deer Creek Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Jefferson County Open Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Elk Creek Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Manning Options SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Fitzsimmons Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- West Jefferson Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Conifer Senior High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Platte Canyon High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 80421 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
80421 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 80421 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 80421
Is 80421 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 80421 ranks 12,932nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, civic engagement, and low property taxes, and lowest on air quality and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 80421 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $565,858. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $105,179 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 80421 safe?
Yes, 80421 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $416 per resident a year.
Compare 80421 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 80421. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 80421 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.
80421 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 80421: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 80421: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 80421: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 80421: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
80421 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.