Best Places80521, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 80521, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
80521 ranks 13,448th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 80521
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.
80521's strengths and weaknesses
Where 80521 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 80521 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,660 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 80521
A household needs to earn about $142,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 80521 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $60,556, 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 80521's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 80521
80521 runs younger 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 80521.
Who works in 80521, and how
Work in 80521 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 24%
Life in 80521
80521 has more parkland per resident than 81% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 80521 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 80521, month by month
80521 sees roughly 143 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 28° | 15° |
| April | 66° | 48° | 32° |
| July | 93° | 74° | 56° |
| October | 69° | 50° | 35° |
Flying in and out of 80521
The nearest airport, Cheyenne Regional/Jerry Olson Field, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 55 miles away.
The best schools in and around 80521
Schools across 80521 average an A−, better than 84% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Traut Core Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Dunn Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Bennett Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kinard Core Knowledge Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Lincoln Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Fort Collins High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Rocky Mountain High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Poudre High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 80521 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
80521 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 80521 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 80521 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 80521
Is 80521 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 80521 ranks 13,448th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, fast internet, and an educated workforce, and lowest on childcare costs and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 80521 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $568,176. The overall cost of living runs about 9% above the national average. Set against a $60,556 median income, cost of living beats 9% of zip codes.
Is 80521 safe?
80521 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $751 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 80521?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 15. That works out to about 143 pleasant days a year, more than 87% of zip codes.
Is 80521 good for families?
Schools beat 84% of zip codes, crime safety beats 16%, and childcare runs $1,660 a month.
Compare 80521 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 80521. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 80521 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.
80521 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 80521: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 80521: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 80521: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 80521: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
80521 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.