Best PlacesBel Aire, Wheat Ridge, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge, 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.
Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge ranks 1,945th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge
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.
Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
Where Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,769 a month, better than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 28% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge
A household needs to earn about $147,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $95,364, 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 Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge's effective rate of 0.45%, 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 Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge
Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge 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 Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge.
Who works in Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge, and how
Work in Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge
Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 99% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge, month by month
Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 63° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 89° | 75° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge
Denver International sits about 23 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 40.1 million passengers in 2025, with 250 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge
Schools across Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge average an A−, better than 88% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Jefferson County Open Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Stevens Elementary SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top middle schools
- Manning Options SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Everitt Middle SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- D'evelyn Junior/senior High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Wheat Ridge High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge 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 Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge
Is Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge ranks 1,945th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low property taxes, civic engagement, and heat safety, and lowest on air quality and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $589,333. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $95,364 median income, cost of living beats 70% of neighborhoods.
Is Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge safe?
Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge is safer than 28% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $836 per resident a year.
Compare Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge 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.
Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bel Aire, Wheat Ridge 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.