Best PlacesOriginal Thornton, Thornton, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Original Thornton, Thornton, 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.
Original Thornton, Thornton ranks 3,989th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Original Thornton, Thornton
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.
Original Thornton, Thornton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Original Thornton, Thornton ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
Where Original Thornton, Thornton ranks low
- School gradeD−, better than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Original Thornton, Thornton
A household needs to earn about $105,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Original Thornton, Thornton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $97,547; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Original Thornton, Thornton's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Original Thornton, Thornton
Original Thornton, Thornton runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Original Thornton, Thornton.
Who works in Original Thornton, Thornton, and how
Work in Original Thornton, Thornton centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Original Thornton, Thornton
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Original Thornton, Thornton.
What the weather is like in Original Thornton, Thornton, month by month
Original Thornton, Thornton sees roughly 74 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 Original Thornton, Thornton
Denver International sits about 16 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 Original Thornton, Thornton
Schools across Original Thornton, Thornton average a D−, better than 6% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Achieve AcademyD− · 13% proficient
- Clayton Partnership SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Thornton Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thornton Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Mapleton Early Career PreparationD · 19% proficient
- Academy High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
- Thornton High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Original Thornton, Thornton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Original Thornton, Thornton 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 Original Thornton, Thornton against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Original Thornton, Thornton
Is Original Thornton, Thornton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Original Thornton, Thornton ranks 3,989th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, low property taxes, and a strong job market, and lowest on the schools and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Original Thornton, Thornton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $413,722. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $97,547 median income, cost of living beats 65% of neighborhoods.
Is Original Thornton, Thornton safe?
Original Thornton, Thornton is safer than 52% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $619 per resident a year.
Compare Original Thornton, Thornton with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Original Thornton, Thornton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Original Thornton, Thornton 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.
Original Thornton, Thornton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Original Thornton, Thornton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Original Thornton, Thornton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Original Thornton, Thornton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Original Thornton, Thornton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Original Thornton, Thornton 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.