Best PlacesWestwood, Denver, CO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Westwood, Denver, 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.
Westwood, Denver ranks 5,065th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Westwood, Denver
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.
Westwood, Denver's strengths and weaknesses
Where Westwood, Denver ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
Where Westwood, Denver ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,827 a month, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Westwood, Denver
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Westwood, Denver home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $54,334, 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 Westwood, Denver's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Westwood, Denver
Westwood, Denver 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 Westwood, Denver.
Who works in Westwood, Denver, and how
Work in Westwood, Denver centers on construction and admin & support services. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Westwood, Denver
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Westwood, Denver.
What the weather is like in Westwood, Denver, month by month
Westwood, Denver sees roughly 154 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 Westwood, Denver
Denver International sits about 22 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 Westwood, Denver
Schools across Westwood, Denver average a D, better than 14% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Joe Shoemaker SchoolD · 21% proficient
- Rocky Mountain Prep: SouthwestD · 18% proficient
- Knapp Elementary SchoolD− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kepner Beacon Middle SchoolF · 6% proficient
- Strive Prep - KepnerF · 4% proficient
Top high schools
- Compassion Road AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
- Denver Montessori Junior/senior High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- John F Kennedy High SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Westwood, Denver school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Westwood, Denver 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 Westwood, Denver against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Westwood, Denver
Is Westwood, Denver a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Westwood, Denver ranks 5,065th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on heat safety, low property taxes, and biking, and lowest on thin health care access and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Westwood, Denver expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $403,708. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $54,334 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Westwood, Denver safe?
Westwood, Denver is safer than 18% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $975 per resident a year.
Compare Westwood, Denver with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Westwood, Denver. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Westwood, Denver 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.
Westwood, Denver detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Westwood, Denver: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Westwood, Denver: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Westwood, Denver: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Westwood, Denver: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Westwood, Denver 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.