Best PlacesProspect-Shields, Fort Collins, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins ranks 3,381st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins
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.
Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins' strengths and weaknesses
Where Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Short commute16.7 minutes each way, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA−, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Household income$46,954 median, better than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,660 a month, better than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins
A household needs to earn about $130,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $46,954, 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 Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins' 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 Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins
Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins runs younger than the country, 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 Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins.
Who works in Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins, and how
Work in Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins
Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins, month by month
Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins sees roughly 143 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 28° | 15° |
| April | 66° | 48° | 32° |
| July | 93° | 74° | 56° |
| October | 69° | 50° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins
The nearest airport, Cheyenne Regional/Jerry Olson Field, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 54 miles away.
The best schools in and around Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins
Schools across Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins average an A−, better than 92% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Traut Core Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Bennett Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kinard Core Knowledge Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
Top high schools
- Rocky Mountain High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Poudre High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins 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 Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins
Is Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins ranks 3,381st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, low property taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $523,806. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $46,954 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins safe?
Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins is safer than 40% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $759 per resident a year.
Compare Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins 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.
Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Prospect-Shields, Fort Collins 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.