Best PlacesSouth Alameda, Lakewood, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Alameda, Lakewood, 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.
South Alameda, Lakewood ranks 2,450th 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 South Alameda, Lakewood
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.
South Alameda, Lakewood's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Alameda, Lakewood ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
Where South Alameda, Lakewood ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,769 a month, better than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Alameda, Lakewood
A household needs to earn about $122,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Alameda, Lakewood home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,796, 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 South Alameda, Lakewood's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 South Alameda, Lakewood
South Alameda, Lakewood 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 South Alameda, Lakewood.
Who works in South Alameda, Lakewood, and how
Work in South Alameda, Lakewood centers on professional & technical and admin & support services. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in South Alameda, Lakewood
South Alameda, Lakewood has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of South Alameda, Lakewood and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Alameda, Lakewood, month by month
South Alameda, Lakewood sees roughly 161 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 South Alameda, Lakewood
Denver International sits about 24 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 South Alameda, Lakewood
Schools across South Alameda, Lakewood average an A−, better than 88% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Jefferson County Open Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Great Work MontessoriD+ · 25% proficient
- Deane Elementary SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top middle schools
- Manning Options SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- D'evelyn Junior/senior High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Brady Exploration SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- New America SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Alameda, Lakewood school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Alameda, Lakewood 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 South Alameda, Lakewood against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South Alameda, Lakewood
Is South Alameda, Lakewood a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Alameda, Lakewood ranks 2,450th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, quiet, and low property taxes, 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 South Alameda, Lakewood expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $485,517. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $65,796 median income, cost of living beats 35% of neighborhoods.
Is South Alameda, Lakewood safe?
South Alameda, Lakewood is safer than 16% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,018 per resident a year.
Compare South Alameda, Lakewood with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Alameda, Lakewood. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Alameda, Lakewood 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.
South Alameda, Lakewood detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Alameda, Lakewood: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Alameda, Lakewood: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Alameda, Lakewood: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Alameda, Lakewood: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Alameda, Lakewood 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.