Best PlacesGolden, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Golden, 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.
Golden ranks 441st of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Golden
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 Golden
The parts of Golden, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first.
West Woods
Genesse North Central
Applewood & Edgemont
Union Square & Daniels
Lakota Hills
Scores across Golden run from about the 37th to the 96th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Golden's strengths and weaknesses
Where Golden ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 94% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than 88% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 86% of cities
Where Golden ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,769 a month, better than only 6% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 12% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 24% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Golden
A household needs to earn about $209,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Golden home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $135,969, 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 Golden's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 Golden
Golden'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 Golden.
Who works in Golden, and how
Work in Golden centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 59%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Golden
Golden has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of cities and more parkland per resident than 95% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Golden and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Golden, month by month
Golden sees roughly 155 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 Golden
Denver International sits about 30 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 Golden
Schools across Golden average an A−, better than 84% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Ralston Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Kyffin Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Mitchell Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southern Hills Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Manning Options SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Manhattan Middle School Of The Arts And AcademicsB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- D'evelyn Junior/senior High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Ralston Valley Senior High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Golden High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Golden school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Golden 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 Golden against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Golden suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of cities and 32% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Golden
Is Golden a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Golden ranks 441st of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on heat safety, low property taxes, and an educated workforce, 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 Golden expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $834,187. The overall cost of living runs about 7% above the national average. Set against a $135,969 median income, cost of living beats 86% of cities.
Is Golden safe?
Golden is safer than 38% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $487 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Golden?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 25. That works out to about 155 pleasant days a year, more than 84% of cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in Golden?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are West Woods, Genesse North Central, and Applewood & Edgemont. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Golden with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Golden. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Golden 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.
Golden detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Golden: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Golden: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Golden: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Golden: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Golden 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.