Best Places80516, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 80516, 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.
80516 ranks 456th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 80516
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.
80516's strengths and weaknesses
Where 80516 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$173,628 median, better than 98% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 80516 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,568 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 80516
A household needs to earn about $185,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 80516 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $173,628; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 80516's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 80516
80516 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 80516.
Who works in 80516, and how
Work in 80516 centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, 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 80516
80516 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 80516 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 80516, month by month
80516 sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 28° | 16° |
| April | 65° | 48° | 34° |
| July | 91° | 74° | 58° |
| October | 68° | 50° | 35° |
Flying in and out of 80516
Denver International sits about 23 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 80516
Schools across 80516 average a B, better than 67% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hulstrom Options K-8 SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Meridian Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Black Rock ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Westlake Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Rocky Top Middle SchoolB+ · 47% proficient
- Erie Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Legacy High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Erie High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- New Vista High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 80516 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
80516 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 80516 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 80516 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 33% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 80516
Is 80516 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 80516 ranks 456th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, few empty homes, 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 80516 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $719,584. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $173,628 median income, cost of living beats 99% of zip codes.
Is 80516 safe?
Yes, 80516 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $297 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 80516?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 16. That works out to about 131 pleasant days a year, more than 81% of zip codes.
Is 80516 good for families?
Schools beat 67% of zip codes, crime safety beats 84%, and childcare runs $1,568 a month.
Compare 80516 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 80516. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 80516 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.
80516 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 80516: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 80516: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 80516: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 80516: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
80516 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.