Best PlacesFriendly Hills, Dakota Ridge, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Friendly Hills, Dakota 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.
Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge ranks 1,549th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Friendly Hills, Dakota 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.
Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
Where Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,769 a month, better than only 11% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 33% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,288, 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 Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge
Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge'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 Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge.
Who works in Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge, and how
Work in Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge.
What the weather is like in Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge, month by month
Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge sees roughly 150 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° |
Flying in and out of Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge
Denver International sits about 29 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 Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge
Schools across Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge average an A−, better than 88% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Jefferson County Open Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Kendallvue Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Manning Options SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- D'evelyn Junior/senior High SchoolA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Friendly Hills, Dakota 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 Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge
Is Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge ranks 1,549th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, few empty homes, and civic engagement, and lowest on walkability and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $551,272. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $100,288 median income, cost of living beats 70% of neighborhoods.
Is Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge safe?
Yes, Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge is safer than 79% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $410 per resident a year.
Compare Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Friendly Hills, Dakota 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.
Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Friendly Hills, Dakota Ridge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Friendly Hills, Dakota 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.