Best PlacesSouth Boulder, Boulder, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Boulder, Boulder, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Boulder, Boulder ranks 1,137th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Boulder, Boulder
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 Boulder, Boulder's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Boulder, Boulder ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
Where South Boulder, Boulder ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,834 a month, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Boulder, Boulder
A household needs to earn about $272,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Boulder, Boulder home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $139,677, 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 Boulder, Boulder's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 Boulder, Boulder
South Boulder, Boulder 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 Boulder, Boulder.
Who works in South Boulder, Boulder, and how
Work in South Boulder, Boulder centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 42%
- Work from home 42%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in South Boulder, Boulder
South Boulder, Boulder has more parkland per resident than 78% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of South Boulder, Boulder and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Boulder, Boulder, month by month
South Boulder, Boulder sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 64° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 90° | 75° | 61° |
| October | 67° | 52° | 40° |
Flying in and out of South Boulder, Boulder
Denver International sits about 32 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 Boulder, Boulder
Schools across South Boulder, Boulder average a B, better than 72% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Bear Creek Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Mesa Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Creekside Elementary School At Martin ParkB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Summit Middle Charter SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Southern Hills Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Manhattan Middle School Of The Arts And AcademicsB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Fairview High SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- New Vista High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Boulder, Boulder school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Boulder, Boulder 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 Boulder, Boulder against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South Boulder, Boulder
Is South Boulder, Boulder a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Boulder, Boulder ranks 1,137th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on an educated workforce, heat safety, and population health, 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 Boulder, Boulder expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,087,942. The overall cost of living runs about 32% above the national average. Set against a $139,677 median income, cost of living beats 80% of neighborhoods.
Is South Boulder, Boulder safe?
South Boulder, Boulder is safer than 54% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $615 per resident a year.
Compare South Boulder, Boulder with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Boulder, Boulder. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Boulder, Boulder 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 Boulder, Boulder detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Boulder, Boulder: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Boulder, Boulder: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Boulder, Boulder: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Boulder, Boulder: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Boulder, Boulder 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.