Best Places81625, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 81625, 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.
81625 ranks 16,061st 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 81625
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.
81625's strengths and weaknesses
Where 81625 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Short commute19.5 minutes each way, better than 87% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 81625 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 7% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 81625
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 81625 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,486, 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 81625's effective rate of 0.54%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 81625
81625's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 81625.
Who works in 81625, and how
Work in 81625 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 81625
81625 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 81625 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 81625, month by month
81625 sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 2. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 16° | 2° |
| April | 61° | 43° | 25° |
| July | 92° | 70° | 47° |
| October | 64° | 43° | 26° |
Flying in and out of 81625
The nearest airport, Yampa Valley, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 159 miles away.
The best schools in and around 81625
Schools across 81625 average a D, better than 7% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Strawberry Park Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Sunset Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Ridgeview Elementary SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Steamboat Springs Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Craig Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Steamboat Springs High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Moffat County High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 81625 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
81625 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 81625 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 81625
Is 81625 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 81625 ranks 16,061st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, short commutes, and walkability, and lowest on air quality and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 81625 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $301,697. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $81,486 median income, cost of living beats 66% of zip codes.
Is 81625 safe?
81625 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $556 per resident a year.
Compare 81625 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 81625. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 81625 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.
81625 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 81625: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 81625: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 81625: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 81625: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
81625 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.