80129 — Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 80129. Its median household income runs 11% below Highlands Ranch as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 28% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 24% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured67
SchoolsTop 10% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured82
Growth1,975th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured44
Housing affordability2,091st of 3,112 ZIP areas measured60
Climate2,390th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured62
Physical resilience1,694th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured54
AccessTop 2% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured100
Economic stabilityTop 5% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured82
The quick read

80129 ranks in the top 24% of ZIP areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.7% and median household income of $141,667. The unemployment rate is published for Highlands Ranch, CO, which contains 80129, rather than for 80129 alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 62% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 10% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 2,115 units authorized over the past twelve months, 36% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Highlands Ranch, CO, which contains 80129, rather than for 80129 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
30,223
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$141,667
Top 5% nationally
Density
4,293/sq mi
7 sq mi of land
Median age
41.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Highlands Ranch
Colorado
Nearest major airport
APA
9 mi · Centennial
Median home value
$663,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Highlands Ranch, CO, which contains 80129, is 3.7%, lower than in 75% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Highlands Ranch, CO, which contains 80129, fell 1.9% over the past year, to 215,691 employed residents.

64% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 95% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $141,667 is higher than in 95% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsDouglas County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$111,96092nd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftDouglas County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$108,44493rd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$10,5232024 ACS 5-Year$141,667Top 5%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,6722024 ACS 5-Year$68,770Top 7%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year3.3%Top 12%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.0 minTop 40%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year64.3%Top 5%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year60.8%14th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentHighlands Ranch, CO’s figureJuly 2026215,691Top 19%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Highlands Ranch, CO’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Bottom 45%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Highlands Ranch, CO’s figureJuly 2026−1.9%Bottom 22%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceHighlands Ranch, CO’s figureJuly 2026224,08381st percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year84.3%Top 23%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageDenver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$81,690Top 11%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageDenver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$62,320Top 8%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year1.4%83rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Highlands Ranch, CO’s figureJuly 20260.0%Bottom 44%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateHighlands Ranch, CO’s figureJuly 20263.7%Top 25%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year32.9%96th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024142k119k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $141,667 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers42,810$37,070
Retail Salespersons40,340$38,470
Stockers and Order Fillers32,610$44,480
Registered Nurses30,380$101,130
Business Operations Specialists, All Other28,670$94,990
Software Developers27,010$137,610

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Highlands Ranch, CO, the city containing this ZIP code.

62% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 74% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 18.8 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
7
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.8
across all schools here
Math proficiency
62.1%
Top 4% in Colorado
Reading proficiency
73.7%
Top 2% in Colorado
All 7 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Thunderridge High SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 11,82022.266%80%
STEM School Highlands Ranch · charterDouglas County School District No. Re 11,39417.663%73%
Ben Franklin Academy · charterDouglas County School District No. Re 195620.360%76%
Ranch View Middle SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 182917.653%65%
Coyote Creek Elementary SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 150616.363%70%
Stone Mountain ElementaryDouglas County School District No. Re 145216.769%76%
Saddle Ranch Elementary SchoolDouglas County School District No. Re 135515.456%61%

11.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Colorado’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 6% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 105.8, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area is up 21% over five years, but down 0.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,529 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.53% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,089, below the $2,421 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,089 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $83,600 a year, about 59% of the median household income here of $141,667.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,421 a month.

A median home at $663,800 costs 4.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $154,910, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
105.8

Prices here run about 6% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
29.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,089
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,421
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$663,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 80129’s median household income of $141,667, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2023105.8Bottom 24%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−0.5%4th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+21.4%5th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+79.9%24th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year4.3Bottom 15%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year69.0%27th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5392024 ACS 5-Year12,92989th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,754Bottom 24%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,734Bottom 22%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,089Bottom 23%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$812024 ACS 5-Year$2,421Bottom 3%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,1132024 ACS 5-Year$663,80093rd percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1192024 ACS 5-Year$3,52976th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,0212024 ACS 5-Year$154,910Top 6%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.53%16th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year29.2%Bottom 45%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±292024 ACS 5-Year1947th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%33rd percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.1%21st percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1992024 ACS 5-Year41970th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

44/ 100
Ranks 1,975 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

At 5.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Highlands Ranch, CO, which contains 80129, rather than for 80129 alone.

Units permitted
2,115
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.6
Top 29% nationally
Year over year
−36%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
26.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
43%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$111,960
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$108,444
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Arapahoe County, CO 6,819 people · 23% of arrivals
  2. Denver County, CO 3,524 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Jefferson County, CO 2,506 people · 8.3% of arrivals
  4. El Paso County, CO 1,213 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  5. Adams County, CO 897 people · 3.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Arapahoe County, CO 4,313 people · 17% of departures
  2. Denver County, CO 2,061 people · 8.3% of departures
  3. Jefferson County, CO 1,493 people · 6.0% of departures
  4. El Paso County, CO 1,205 people · 4.9% of departures
  5. Elbert County, CO 850 people · 3.4% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Douglas County, CO. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Highlands Ranch, CO, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 15.0 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DENVER CENTENNIAL AP, 8.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year932024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals15.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year252024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year482024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
48
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
93
90th percentile index
Days above 100
25
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

54 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 38% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HailElevated
WildfireHigh
Winter weatherModerate
TornadoElevated
LandslideModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, strong wind, inland flooding, volcanic activity, cold wave, earthquake, heat wave, ice storm, drought, coastal flooding, tsunami, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
1.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
16.7
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 80129 (Douglas County) rather than 80129 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Highlands Ranch carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

9 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Centennial at 9 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year96.9%Top 11%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle9 miTop 22%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle9Top 4%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year2.0%Top 14%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
CentennialAPA9 mi10,001 ft
Rocky Mountain MetroBJC26 mi9,000 ft
Denver IntlDEN28 mi16,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
64
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

80129 vs Highlands Ranch

How this ZIP area compares with Highlands Ranch as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

80129
Highlands Ranch
Median household income: Highlands Ranch is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$141,667
vs
$159,307
Per capita income: Highlands Ranch is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$68,770
vs
$71,247
Population density
4,293/sq mi
vs
4,214/sq mi
Median home value
$663,800
vs
$712,700
Median gross rent: 80129 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$2,421
vs
$2,531
Homeownership rate
69.0%
vs
78.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Highlands Ranch is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
64.3%
vs
67.8%
Poverty rate: Highlands Ranch is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
3.3%
vs
2.9%
Median age
41.2
vs
41.5

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.