Best PlacesWeld County, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Weld County, 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.
Weld County ranks 596th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $100,105, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are air quality, childcare costs, and state finances.
The best neighborhoods in Weld County
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 Weld County
The parts of Weld County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Erie, Firestone & Frederick
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Windsor
Crime runs lower and schools score higher.
Johnstown & Mead
More residents vote, though biking is worse.
Severance & Pierce
Prices have run up less and it is quieter.
Greeley & Evans
More households have young kids.
Keenesburg & Hudson
Commutes are longer and advertised internet is slower.
Fort Lupton, Lochbuie & Platteville
Health care is harder to reach.
La Salle & Kersey
Homes cost less and streets are more walkable.
Eaton
Health outcomes score lower and more homes sit empty.
Weld County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 3% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Weld County's strengths and weaknesses
Weld County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Few empty homes is the standout, in the top 3% of counties. Biking and population health follow.
The one real hole is air quality, near the bottom of the country. Childcare costs and state finances also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Weld County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of counties
- BikingBetter than 95% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of counties
- Household income$100,105 median, better than 92% of counties
Where Weld County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,425 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 8% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Weld County
A household needs to earn about $120,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Weld County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,105, 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 Weld County's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Weld County
Weld County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Weld County.
Who works in Weld County, and how
Work in Weld County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Weld County
Weld County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Weld County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Weld County growing, and who is moving in?
Weld County has grown about 33% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Denver, CO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Weld County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Weld County, month by month
Weld County sees roughly 142 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 25° | 10° |
| April | 67° | 48° | 31° |
| July | 94° | 74° | 57° |
| October | 69° | 48° | 32° |
Flying in and out of Weld County
Denver International sits about 33 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 Weld County
Schools across Weld County average a C−, better than 18% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Windsor Charter Academy Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Benjamin Eaton Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Black Rock ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Windsor Charter Academy Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Erie Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Mead Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Windsor Charter Academy Early College High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Niwot High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Erie High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Weld County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Weld County 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 Weld County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Weld County suits
Families
Schools land around the 18th percentile and crime safety beats 75%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Weld County
Is Weld County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Weld County ranks 596th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, biking, and population health, 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 Weld County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $476,838. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $100,105 median income, cost of living beats 88% of counties.
Is Weld County safe?
Yes, Weld County is safer than 75% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $431 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Weld County?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 10. That works out to about 142 pleasant days a year, more than 89% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Weld County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Erie, Firestone & Frederick, Windsor, and Johnstown & Mead. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Weld County good for families?
Schools beat 18% of counties, crime safety beats 75%, and childcare runs $1,425 a month.
Is Weld County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 58% of counties. About 14% of workers already work from home.
Compare Weld County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Weld County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Weld County 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.
Weld County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Weld County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Weld County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Weld County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Weld County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Weld County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.