80228 — Lakewood, Colorado

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 80228. Its median household income runs 27% above Lakewood as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 24% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 41% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured58
SchoolsTop 35% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured62
Growth3,062nd of 3,124 ZIP areas measured13
Housing affordability2,255th of 3,112 ZIP areas measured57
Climate2,781st of 3,127 ZIP areas measured59
Physical resilience2,410th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured31
AccessTop 31% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured97
Economic stabilityTop 5% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured82
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.0% and median household income $113,977, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Lakewood, CO, which contains 80228, rather than for 80228 alone.

In the public schools here, 45% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.1 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 23 units authorized over the past twelve months, 82% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Lakewood, CO, which contains 80228, rather than for 80228 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
34,942
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$113,977
Top 11% nationally
Density
3,049/sq mi
11.5 sq mi of land
Median age
39.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Lakewood
Colorado
Nearest major airport
BJC
15 mi · Rocky Mountain Metro
Median home value
$641,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Lakewood, CO, which contains 80228, is 4.0%, lower than in 64% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Lakewood, CO, which contains 80228, fell 1.9% over the past year, to 87,450 employed residents.

60% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 93% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $113,977 is higher than in 89% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsJefferson County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$84,29873rd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftJefferson County, CO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$83,95077th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,4912024 ACS 5-Year$113,977Top 11%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,3572024 ACS 5-Year$71,158Top 6%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%Top 15%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.0 minTop 46%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year60.0%Top 7%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year63.5%17th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentLakewood, CO’s figureJuly 202687,450Top 33%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Lakewood, CO’s figureJuly 2026−2.5%Bottom 19%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Lakewood, CO’s figureJuly 2026−1.9%Bottom 21%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceLakewood, CO’s figureJuly 202691,13167th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year86.3%Top 15%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 ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%79th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Lakewood, CO’s figureJuly 20260.0%Bottom 44%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateLakewood, CO’s figureJuly 20264.0%Top 36%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.1%94th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024114k99k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $113,977 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 Lakewood, CO, the city containing this ZIP code.

45% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 58% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.1 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
44.6%
Top 33% in Colorado
Reading proficiency
57.9%
Top 33% in Colorado
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Green Mountain High SchoolJefferson County School District No. R-11,07120.249%71%
Dunstan Middle SchoolJefferson County School District No. R-179818.641%51%
Devinny Elementary SchoolJefferson County School District No. R-150518.076%83%
Rooney Ranch Elementary SchoolJefferson County School District No. R-149217.058%67%
Foothills Elementary SchoolJefferson County School District No. R-136313.422%37%
McLain Community High SchoolJefferson County School District No. R-134910.93%12%
Hutchinson Elementary SchoolJefferson County School District No. R-132814.942%52%
Warren TechJefferson County School District No. R-1324.0——
Longview High SchoolJefferson County School District No. R-1205.010%50%

28.3% 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 $2,985 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.47% 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, some 9% above the $1,916 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 73% of the median household income here of $113,977.

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 $1,916 a month.

A median home at $641,300 costs 4.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $141,250, 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
29.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,089
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,916
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$641,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 80228’s median household income of $113,977, 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 ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year4.5Bottom 12%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year67.3%25th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5672024 ACS 5-Year15,97493rd 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 ±$662024 ACS 5-Year$1,916Bottom 9%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,7112024 ACS 5-Year$641,30093rd percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$952024 ACS 5-Year$2,98570th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,1422024 ACS 5-Year$141,250Top 9%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.47%10th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year29.4%Bottom 43%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±362024 ACS 5-Year2551st percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%33rd percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.9%28th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2262024 ACS 5-Year64779th 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

13/ 100
Ranks 3,062 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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 23 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Lakewood, CO, which contains 80228, rather than for 80228 alone.

At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Lakewood, CO, which contains 80228, rather than for 80228 alone.

Units permitted
23
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.1
Bottom 7% nationally
Year over year
−82%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
36%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$84,298
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$83,950
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Denver County, CO 10,103 people · 25% of arrivals
  2. Adams County, CO 4,360 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. Arapahoe County, CO 3,640 people · 9.2% of arrivals
  4. Douglas County, CO 1,493 people · 3.8% of arrivals
  5. Boulder County, CO 1,372 people · 3.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Denver County, CO 6,863 people · 17% of departures
  2. Adams County, CO 5,265 people · 13% of departures
  3. Arapahoe County, CO 3,448 people · 8.8% of departures
  4. Douglas County, CO 2,506 people · 6.4% of departures
  5. Boulder County, CO 1,103 people · 2.8% 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 Jefferson 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 Lakewood, 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 90°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 15.4 inches, including 49.0 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DENVER-STAPLETON, 16.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year1012024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals15.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals49.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year502024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
50
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
101
90th percentile index
Days above 100
37
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

31 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hail and wildfire, with inland flooding alone responsible for 33% 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.

HailHigh
WildfireHigh
TornadoElevated
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, winter weather, landslide, inland flooding, strong wind, earthquake, cold wave, ice storm, heat wave, volcanic activity, 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
2.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.7
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
22.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
20.1
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 80228 (Jefferson County) rather than 80228 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. Lakewood 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

10 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Rocky Mountain Metro at 15 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year96.0%Top 15%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle15 miTop 43%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle10Top 2%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year1.9%Top 13%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Rocky Mountain MetroBJC15 mi9,000 ft
CentennialAPA19 mi10,001 ft
Denver IntlDEN29 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.

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Area Score
51
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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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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.

80228 vs Lakewood

How this ZIP area compares with Lakewood 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.

80228
Lakewood
Median household income: 80228 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$113,977
vs
$89,792
Per capita income: 80228 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$71,158
vs
$53,749
Population density
3,049/sq mi
vs
3,601/sq mi
Median home value
$641,300
vs
$574,400
Median gross rent: Lakewood is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,916
vs
$1,806
Homeownership rate
67.3%
vs
58.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 80228 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
60.0%
vs
45.3%
Poverty rate: 80228 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
4.0%
vs
8.4%
Median age
39.4
vs
38.2

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.