Best Places80831, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 80831, 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.
80831 ranks 2,867th 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 80831
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.
80831's strengths and weaknesses
Where 80831 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Household income$132,014 median, better than 93% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 80831 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,473 a month, better than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Short commute32.2 minutes each way, better than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 80831
A household needs to earn about $135,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 80831 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $132,014; 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 80831's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 80831
80831'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 80831.
Who works in 80831, and how
Work in 80831 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 80831
80831 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 80831 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 80831, month by month
80831 sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 29° | 16° |
| April | 63° | 45° | 30° |
| July | 87° | 70° | 55° |
| October | 67° | 48° | 34° |
Flying in and out of 80831
The nearest airport, City of Colorado Springs Municipal, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around 80831
Schools across 80831 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pikes Peak School Expeditionary LearningB · 45% proficient
- Peyton Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Woodmen Hills Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ellicott Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Falcon Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Peyton Junior High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Falcon High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Peyton Senior High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Calhan Secondary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 80831 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
80831 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 80831 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 80831 suits
Families
Schools land around the 35th percentile and crime safety beats 86%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 18% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 80831
Is 80831 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 80831 ranks 2,867th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, what local pay buys, and high incomes, 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 80831 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $540,641. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $132,014 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 80831 safe?
Yes, 80831 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $285 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 80831?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 16. That works out to about 119 pleasant days a year, more than 75% of zip codes.
Is 80831 good for families?
Schools beat 35% of zip codes, crime safety beats 86%, and childcare runs $1,473 a month.
Compare 80831 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 80831. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 80831 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.
80831 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 80831: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 80831: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 80831: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 80831: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
80831 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.