Best PlacesColorado Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Colorado, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Colorado ranks 22nd of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $107,377, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are air quality, childcare costs, and thin health care access.
The best neighborhoods in Colorado
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.
The best areas in Colorado
The counties of Colorado, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Elbert County & Kit Carson County
Local pay stretches further, more households have young kids, and incomes run higher.
Denver County, Arapahoe County & Jefferson County
Big-city amenities are closer and more adults hold degrees.
Adams County & Larimer County
Fewer homes sit empty.
Boulder County
It is quieter, though homes cost more.
Teller County
Biking is worse and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Mesa County, Garfield County & Eagle County
Prices have run up more and streets are more car-dependent.
El Paso County & Pueblo County
Schools score lower.
Weld County
Health care is harder to reach and tree cover is thinner.
La Plata County, Montrose County & Fremont County
More residents vote, though health outcomes score lower.
Colorado shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Colorado's strengths and weaknesses
Colorado lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Population health is the standout, in the top 3% of states. Biking and heat safety follow.
The one real hole is air quality, near the bottom of the country. Childcare costs and thin health care access also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Colorado ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of states
- BikingBetter than 97% of states
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of states
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of states
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of states
Where Colorado ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of states
- Cheap childcare$1,532 a month, better than only 5% of states
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 9% of states
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of states
- Crime safetyBetter than only 21% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Colorado
A household needs to earn about $145,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Colorado home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $107,377, 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 Colorado's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 Colorado
Colorado's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Colorado.
Who works in Colorado, and how
Work in Colorado centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, 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 Colorado
Colorado has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most states and more late-night spots per resident than 85% of states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Colorado and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Colorado, month by month
Colorado sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 31° | 18° |
| April | 64° | 48° | 32° |
| July | 90° | 74° | 59° |
| October | 69° | 52° | 36° |
The best schools in and around Colorado
Schools across Colorado average a C, better than 31% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Dennison Elementary SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- Polaris Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Parker Core Knowledge Charter SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
Top middle schools
- Summit Middle Charter SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Englewood Leadership AcademyA+ · 78% proficient
- Crest AcademyA+ · 75% proficient
Top high schools
- Fairview High SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Evergreen High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Ouray Senior High SchoolA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Colorado school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Colorado 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 Colorado against the other 49 states.
Who Colorado suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of states, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 21% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Colorado
Is Colorado a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Colorado ranks 22nd of 50 states. It scores highest on population health, biking, and heat safety, and lowest on air quality and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Colorado expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $576,274. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $107,377 median income, cost of living beats 91% of states.
Is Colorado safe?
Colorado is safer than 21% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $584 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Colorado?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 18. That works out to about 120 pleasant days a year, more than 79% of states.
What are the best areas in Colorado?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Elbert County & Kit Carson County, Denver County, Arapahoe County & Jefferson County, and Adams County & Larimer County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Colorado good for families?
Schools beat 31% of states, crime safety beats 21%, and childcare runs $1,532 a month.
Is Colorado good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of states, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 62% of states. About 21% of workers already work from home.
Compare Colorado with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Colorado. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Colorado 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.
Colorado detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Colorado: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Colorado: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Colorado: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Colorado: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Colorado 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.
- 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.