Best Places80863, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 80863, 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.
80863 ranks 10,027th 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 80863
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.
80863's strengths and weaknesses
Where 80863 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 80863 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,119 a month, better than only 23% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 80863
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 80863 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $99,524, 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 80863's effective rate of 0.37%, 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 80863
80863 runs older 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 80863.
Who works in 80863, and how
Work in 80863 centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 80863
80863 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 80863 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 80863, month by month
80863 sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 29° | 14° |
| April | 63° | 45° | 29° |
| July | 87° | 70° | 53° |
| October | 67° | 48° | 32° |
Flying in and out of 80863
The nearest airport, City of Colorado Springs Municipal, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 63 miles away.
The best schools in and around 80863
Schools across 80863 average a C, better than 36% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Palmer Lake Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Columbine Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Ute Pass Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lewis-palmer Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Woodland Park Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Manitou Springs Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Palmer Ridge High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Manitou Springs High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Woodland Park High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 80863 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
80863 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 80863 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 80863
Is 80863 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 80863 ranks 10,027th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, civic engagement, and a strong job market, and lowest on air quality and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 80863 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $563,959. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $99,524 median income, cost of living beats 78% of zip codes.
Is 80863 safe?
80863 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $436 per resident a year.
Compare 80863 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 80863. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 80863 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.
80863 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 80863: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 80863: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 80863: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 80863: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
80863 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.