Best PlacesCentral Boulder, Boulder, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central Boulder, Boulder, 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.
Central Boulder, Boulder ranks 2,248th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Central Boulder, Boulder
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.
Central Boulder, Boulder's strengths and weaknesses
Where Central Boulder, Boulder ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Short commute18.0 minutes each way, better than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Central Boulder, Boulder ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,834 a month, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central Boulder, Boulder
A household needs to earn about $372,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central Boulder, Boulder home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $104,716, 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 Central Boulder, Boulder's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 Central Boulder, Boulder
Central Boulder, Boulder 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 Central Boulder, Boulder.
Who works in Central Boulder, Boulder, and how
Work in Central Boulder, Boulder centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 43%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 25%
Life in Central Boulder, Boulder
Central Boulder, Boulder has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 78% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Central Boulder, Boulder and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Central Boulder, Boulder, month by month
Central Boulder, Boulder sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 64° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 90° | 75° | 61° |
| October | 67° | 52° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Central Boulder, Boulder
Denver International sits about 34 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 Central Boulder, Boulder
Schools across Central Boulder, Boulder average a C+, better than 57% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Flatirons Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Foothill Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- University Hill Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Manhattan Middle School Of The Arts And AcademicsB− · 42% proficient
- Centennial Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Casey Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- New Vista High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Central Boulder, Boulder school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central Boulder, Boulder 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 Central Boulder, Boulder against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Central Boulder, Boulder suits
Common questions about living in Central Boulder, Boulder
Is Central Boulder, Boulder a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central Boulder, Boulder ranks 2,248th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, biking, and an educated workforce, 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 Central Boulder, Boulder expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,468,298. The overall cost of living runs about 37% above the national average. Set against a $104,716 median income, cost of living beats 53% of neighborhoods.
Is Central Boulder, Boulder safe?
Central Boulder, Boulder is safer than 27% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $939 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Central Boulder, Boulder?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 23. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 40% of neighborhoods.
Is Central Boulder, Boulder good for families?
Schools beat 57% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 27%, and childcare runs $1,834 a month.
Compare Central Boulder, Boulder with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central Boulder, Boulder. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central Boulder, Boulder 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.
Central Boulder, Boulder detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central Boulder, Boulder: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central Boulder, Boulder: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central Boulder, Boulder: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central Boulder, Boulder: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central Boulder, Boulder 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.