Best Places80459, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 80459, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
80459 ranks 18,370th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 80459
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.
80459's strengths and weaknesses
Where 80459 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 80459 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,533 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 80459
A household needs to earn about $99,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 80459 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $82,721, 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 80459'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 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 80459
80459 runs younger than the country, 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 80459.
Who works in 80459, and how
Work in 80459 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 80459
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 80459.
What the weather is like in 80459, month by month
80459 sees roughly 99 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 4. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 14° | 4° |
| April | 57° | 41° | 27° |
| July | 85° | 64° | 46° |
| October | 59° | 41° | 26° |
Flying in and out of 80459
The nearest airport, Eagle County Regional, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 92 miles away.
The best schools in and around 80459
Schools across 80459 average a C−, better than 17% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Soda Creek Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Strawberry Park Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- West Grand Elementary And Middle SchoolC− · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Steamboat Springs Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Soroco Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Steamboat Springs High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Soroco High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- West Grand High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 80459 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
80459 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 80459 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 80459
Is 80459 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 80459 ranks 18,370th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, civic engagement, and a strong job market, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 80459 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $401,351. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $82,721 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 80459 safe?
80459 is safer than 28% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $567 per resident a year.
Compare 80459 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 80459. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 80459 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.
80459 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 80459: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 80459: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 80459: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 80459: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
80459 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.