Best PlacesFruitdale, Wheat Ridge, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fruitdale, 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.
Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge ranks 2,737th 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 Fruitdale, 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.
Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
Where Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,769 a month, better than only 11% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge
A household needs to earn about $133,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $89,591, 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 Fruitdale, 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 Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge
Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge.
Who works in Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge, and how
Work in Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge
Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge has more parkland per resident than 98% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge, month by month
Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge sees roughly 81 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 Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge
Denver International sits about 25 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 Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge
Schools across Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge average an A−, better than 88% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Jefferson County Open Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Compass Montessori - Wheat Ridge Charter SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Kullerstrand Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Manning Options SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Drake Junior High SchoolB · 44% 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 Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fruitdale, 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 Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge
Is Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge ranks 2,737th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, low property taxes, and good schools, 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 Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $535,884. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $89,591 median income, cost of living beats 63% of neighborhoods.
Is Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge safe?
Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge is safer than 49% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $633 per resident a year.
Compare Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fruitdale, 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.
Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fruitdale, Wheat Ridge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fruitdale, 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.