Best Places81648, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 81648, 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.
81648 ranks 17,472nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 81648
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.
81648's strengths and weaknesses
Where 81648 ranks high
- Short commute12.4 minutes each way, better than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 161 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 81648 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 81648
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 81648 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,486, 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 81648's effective rate of 0.42%, 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 81648
81648 runs younger 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 81648.
Who works in 81648, and how
Work in 81648 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 81648
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 81648.
What the weather is like in 81648, month by month
81648 sees roughly 161 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 23° | 16° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 93° | 77° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 49° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 81648
The nearest airport, Vernal Regional, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Salt Lake City International, about 174 miles away.
The best schools in and around 81648
Schools across 81648 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Meeker Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Parkview Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Barone Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Meeker High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Rangely Junior/senior High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 81648 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
81648 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 81648 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 81648
Is 81648 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 81648 ranks 17,472nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, civic engagement, and the weather, and lowest on distance from a big city and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 81648 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $215,139. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $71,486 median income, cost of living beats 56% of zip codes.
Is 81648 safe?
81648 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $705 per resident a year.
Compare 81648 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 81648. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 81648 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.
81648 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 81648: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 81648: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 81648: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 81648: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
81648 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.