Best Places80603, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 80603, 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.
80603 ranks 8,775th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 80603
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.
80603's strengths and weaknesses
Where 80603 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Household income$125,890 median, better than 91% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 146 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 80603 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,492 a month, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 80603
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 80603 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $125,890; 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 80603's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 80603
80603's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 80603.
Who works in 80603, and how
Work in 80603 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 80603
80603 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 80603 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 80603, month by month
80603 sees roughly 146 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 30° | 17° |
| April | 66° | 48° | 32° |
| July | 93° | 75° | 59° |
| October | 71° | 52° | 37° |
Flying in and out of 80603
Denver International sits about 9 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 80603
Schools across 80603 average a D, better than 7% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kenneth Homyak Pk-8C+ · 39% proficient
- Mary E Pennock Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Hudson Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Prairie View Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Otho E Stuart Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Weld Central Middle SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Brighton High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Weld Central Senior High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Prairie View High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 80603 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
80603 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 80603 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 80603
Is 80603 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 80603 ranks 8,775th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, high incomes, and what local pay buys, 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 80603 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $550,012. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $125,890 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 80603 safe?
Yes, 80603 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $296 per resident a year.
Compare 80603 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 80603. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 80603 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.
80603 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 80603: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 80603: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 80603: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 80603: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
80603 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.