Best Places81251, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 81251, 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.
81251 ranks 22,169th 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 81251
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.
81251's strengths and weaknesses
Where 81251 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 81251 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Short commute39.1 minutes each way, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 81251
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 81251 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $106,868, 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 81251's effective rate of 0.43%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 81251
81251 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 81251.
Who works in 81251, and how
Work in 81251 centers on construction and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 81251
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 81251.
What the weather is like in 81251, month by month
81251 sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 75 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 3. The comfortable stretch runs July.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 17° | 3° |
| April | 46° | 32° | 18° |
| July | 75° | 57° | 38° |
| October | 54° | 37° | 22° |
Flying in and out of 81251
The nearest airport, Aspen-Pitkin County/Sardy Field, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 104 miles away.
The best schools in and around 81251
Schools across 81251 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Avery/parsons Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Buena Vista Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Buena Vista High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Lake County High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 81251 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
81251 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 81251 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 81251
Is 81251 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 81251 ranks 22,169th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, quiet, and low disaster risk, and lowest on air quality and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 81251 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $560,400. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $106,868 median income, cost of living beats 79% of zip codes.
Is 81251 safe?
81251 is safer than 5% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,018 per resident a year.
Compare 81251 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 81251. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 81251 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.
81251 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 81251: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 81251: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 81251: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 81251: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
81251 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.