Best Places81090, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 81090, 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.
81090 ranks 26,528th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 81090
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.
81090's strengths and weaknesses
Where 81090 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Short commute16.7 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$555 a month, better than 90% of zip codes
Where 81090 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$35,165 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 81090
A household needs to earn about $26,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 81090 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $35,165, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 81090'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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 81090
81090 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 81090.
Who works in 81090, and how
Work in 81090 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 81090
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 81090.
What the weather is like in 81090, month by month
81090 sees roughly 146 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 32° | 17° |
| April | 72° | 52° | 35° |
| July | 94° | 77° | 61° |
| October | 74° | 54° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 81090
The nearest airport, Liberal Mid-America Regional, is about 75 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 216 miles away.
The best schools in and around 81090
Schools across 81090 average a C−, better than 27% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Stanton County ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Walsh Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Vilas Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Walsh High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Stanton County Jr./sr. High SchoolD− · 12% proficient
- Springfield Junior/senior High SchoolF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 81090 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
81090 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 81090 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 81090
Is 81090 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 81090 ranks 26,528th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, short commutes, and low property taxes, and lowest on tree cover and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 81090 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $107,630. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $35,165 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 81090 safe?
81090 is safer than 37% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $525 per resident a year.
Compare 81090 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 81090. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 81090 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.
81090 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 81090: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 81090: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 81090: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 81090: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
81090 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.