Best Places81403, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 81403, 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.
81403 ranks 12,361st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 81403
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.
81403's strengths and weaknesses
Where 81403 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 174 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 81403 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 81403
A household needs to earn about $128,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 81403 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $76,747, 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 81403's effective rate of 0.36%, 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 81403
81403 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 81403.
Who works in 81403, and how
Work in 81403 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 81403
81403 has more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 81403 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 81403, month by month
81403 sees roughly 174 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 27° | 15° |
| April | 67° | 50° | 34° |
| July | 92° | 75° | 58° |
| October | 68° | 50° | 35° |
Flying in and out of 81403
The nearest airport, Montrose Regional, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 199 miles away.
The best schools in and around 81403
Schools across 81403 average a C−, better than 27% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ridgway Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Cottonwood Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Oak Grove Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ridgway Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Columbine Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Centennial Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Montrose High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Ridgway High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Olathe Middle/high SchoolD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 81403 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
81403 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 81403 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 81403
Is 81403 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 81403 ranks 12,361st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, the weather, and low property taxes, and lowest on air quality and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 81403 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $521,802. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $76,747 median income, cost of living beats 48% of zip codes.
Is 81403 safe?
81403 is safer than 27% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $593 per resident a year.
Compare 81403 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 81403. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 81403 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.
81403 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 81403: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 81403: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 81403: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 81403: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
81403 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.