Blog > I Ranked Denver's BEST Neighborhoods (Tier List)
Denver Neighborhoods Ranked: My Honest Tier List by a Local Broker
Denver has 78 neighborhoods, and after 15 years selling here, I've ranked the best and worst into a tier list. Here's where to live, where to avoid, and why Wash Park beats Cherry Creek.
Key Takeaways
- Wash Park ranks S-tier thanks to a 2.6-mile park loop, walkable shops, and central access.
- Cherry Creek didn't make the list because out-of-state buyers rarely pick it over Hilltop.
- D-tier neighborhoods like Globeville and Swansea still feel industrial despite 40 years of redevelopment talk.
- A-tier splits between northwest nightlife (Sloan's Lake, Highlands, LoHi) and suburban south Denver (Wellshire, University Hills).
- Denver has no true ghettos, so the citywide baseline sits higher than most major U.S. cities.
Watch: I Ranked Denver's BEST Neighborhoods (Tier List) on the Living in Denver YouTube channel
Video Chapters
Which Denver neighborhoods fall into the D-tier?
D-tier covers Globeville and Swansea, sitting where I-70 and I-25 meet just north of downtown.
These areas make the news when people talk about Denver's rough spots, but honestly they're not hopeless. They're transitional. The new I-70 highway project brought some redevelopment, but the industrial feel is still heavy. This is Purina plant territory, which is where the "Denver stinks" jokes come from.
The pitch looks good on paper: you're minutes from downtown and homes can start in the $400s. The catch is that Globeville has been "about to redevelop" for roughly 40 years. If you're moving here today, I wouldn't bet your timeline on that finally happening.
One thing I want to clear up: Denver doesn't have ghettos. Not a single street I wouldn't drive your mom down at 1 a.m. Anyone who grew up in New York, DC, Chicago, LA, or Miami knows what a rough city actually looks like. Our worst is two or three notches above that.
What are the C-tier Denver neighborhoods for renters and investors?
C-tier includes Montbello in the northeast plus Westwood and Athmar Park in the southwest.
Montbello is a huge neighborhood, and the prices surprise people. Around $500K there can get you a 2,500 square foot home with four bedrooms, three baths, and a walkout basement. That's real house for the money.
Westwood and Athmar Park are still building out their restaurant and walkability scene. All three attract investors because the price-to-rent math still works and homeownership rates sit under 50%. You can feel it on the street: lots of rentals versus lots of owners look completely different.
I'm actually bullish on this tier long term. As prices climb and boomers start passing properties to millennial kids, a lot of these rentals will have to sell to owner-occupants because rental math no longer pencils at current Denver prices. That shift alone should lift the C-tier over the next decade.
Which Denver neighborhoods are B-tier solid picks?
B-tier features Park Hill, Central Park, and Baker, with entry prices starting in the $500Ks.
Park Hill sits northeast of Colorado and Colfax with tons of shopping and bars along Colfax. You can still buy in the $500s and $600s here, which makes it the most accessible of the three.
Central Park is the old Stapleton airport redevelopment, built around green space with newer homes and tons of parks. It's a planned community feel and expect to start around $800K for a real home.
Baker sits south of downtown with those diagonal streets. It's historic, funky, and dense with Victorians, multifamily buildings, and tight lots. You either love that old-Denver character or you don't. The Broadway strip gives you restaurants, coffee, and bars right at your door, plus easy access to I-25, 6th Avenue, and Santa Fe heading toward Littleton. Fixer-uppers are common, so budget accordingly.
What are the A-tier Denver neighborhoods?
A-tier splits into two pockets: northwest (Sloan's Lake, Highlands, LoHi) and south (Wellshire, University Hills, Holly Hills).
The northwest cluster is where young professionals land. It's high density, walkable, and packed with nightlife just across I-25 from downtown. Berkeley and Sunnyside count too, but I don't rate them quite as high. Most single-family homes start around $1 million, though townhomes and condos open up in the $600s.
The southern pocket is a different lifestyle entirely. Wellshire, University Hills, and Holly Hills sit off I-25 near Yale. You're looking at 10,000 square foot lots, 3,000 square foot homes, and a proper suburban feel. U Hills and Holly Hills start in the $500s and $600s. Wellshire needs about a million to enter.
The draw here is location: two exits from the DTC, 10 to 15 minutes to downtown, and way more space than you'll find up north. It's for buyers who want room over walkability.
Why is Wash Park the #1 Denver neighborhood?
Wash Park tops the S-tier because of a massive 8-block park, walkable town center, and central access between downtown and the DTC.
People don't realize how big Washington Park actually is until they walk it. The loop runs close to 2.5 miles and the park spans 8 blocks north to south. You can run it, bike it, even cross-country ski it when we get enough snow.
Outside the park, Wash Park has its own little downtown with restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, boutiques, farmers markets, and art festivals. You don't have to cross a busy street to get to any of it. Access to I-25 puts you three or four exits from the DTC and a handful from downtown.
Pricing reflects the demand. Fixer-uppers on the west side start around $1 million. On the east side, expect $1.5 to $1.8 million to get in. Finished homes regularly trade between $6 and $8 million because the lots still support 6,000 square foot builds. It's a sanctuary in the middle of the city.
Why didn't Cherry Creek make the Denver tier list?
In 15 years of selling Denver real estate, I've never had a single out-of-state buyer tell me Cherry Creek was their target neighborhood.
Cherry Creek is a different product than the rest of Denver. It's high-density condo and townhome living at luxury prices, not the single-family lifestyle most people picture when they think about moving here. You're looking at $3 million for a 2,500 square foot condo in a lot of cases.
It absolutely works for the people who choose it. The buyer profile skews toward locals already in Denver who are hitting early retirement, want shopping and art galleries at their door, and are ready to downsize into something walkable and upscale. That's a real market.
But relocation buyers almost never ask about it. They ask about Wash Park, Hilltop, Highlands, and the suburbs. So rather than force Cherry Creek into a tier where it doesn't compare apples to apples, I left it off. Hilltop scratches a similar itch with actual yards and single-family homes.
Full Video Transcript
Full transcript from this video, organized by chapter. Click any timestamp to jump to that moment in the video.
Denver Neighborhoods Overview
[0:00] Denver has 78 neighborhoods. And if you're looking to move here, you might be wondering which ones you should live in and which ones are the worst and which ones are in fact the best. Well, that's what I'm going to tell you right here in this very video. Because some neighborhoods here are just exactly what you want. It's the lifestyle. It is the dream. And other neighborhoods are well just kind of crap. And I know I'm going to get a lot of disagreement and a lot of hate on this video for how these rankings sit. And that's totally fine.
[0:27] You are allowed your opinion. I'm allowed mine, but I'm just gonna tell you, I do this for 40 plus hours a week, every single week, and I have for the last 15 years. So, my opinion is probably more valid than yours, but I'd actually love to hear from you. So, drop in the comments during this video what you think is going to be the best and what should be the worst neighborhoods around Denver. And by the way, the number one neighborhood on this list might actually surprise you a little bit. It's not what you think because it's not actually Cherry Creek. Okay, so let's start with the Dtier. And these are going to be the neighborhoods that well kind of make the headlines on the news. And when you hear bad things about Denver, this is generally where it's going to happen. Uh now, it's not to say that these places are absolutely hopeless. It's just that they've got some work to do to to be into a transitional great point uh where they live up to the rest of Denver. You know, we're talking about Globeville, which is at I7, I25, and Swansia just to the east of it. Now, there has been some redevelopment happening here. You know, especially with the new highway project.
Globeville & Affordable Areas
[1:27] Uh, but right now, they still feel really industrial compared to other parts of Denver. You know, this is where you hear about the Purina plant. And when people say that Denver just stinks, they're kind of talking about this part of town. Uh, you know, and it's really close to downtown, though, which sounds great on paper, right? So, when you look at it, you're like, man, this is just out of downtown. And it's actually kind of affordable. you know, you could buy in the 400s or so, but historically, it's kind of been going through some redevelopment, and I feel like it's been going through redevelopment for like 40 some odd years. But if you're moving to Denver today, you know, there might be some other places that you want to put on your list. All right, moving to Ctier. This is where when you think of a lot of good rentals and stuff, you're talking the Ctier stuff. You know, they're not bad neighborhoods. And all right, let's lay this to rest right now, cuz I'm going to hear this all the time about Denver having ghettos and stuff.
[2:18] Dude, we do not have ghettos. We do not have a part of town that I would not drive you and your mother around at 1:00 a.m. Not a single street in the entire city. People that are born here, that grew up here, have no clue what a ghetto is like in New York or DC or Chicago or LA or Miami. Like, we're bad. Parts of town are really bad. We don't have a single part there. So, our our our base level is like two or three notches higher than pretty much any city, a big city in this country, we'll say it that way. But the sea tier neighborhoods what we're talking about is Mont Bellow. So Mount Bellow is northeast of town. It's a really large neighborhood. You know, there's some nice, you know, the parts of Mount Bellow here in 500 get you a lot of home, right? It'll get you 2500 square ft. Uh four bedrooms, three baths. Uh you know, walk out basements aren't uncommon. Two-story homes like Mount Bellow's not terrible. And then you have Westwood and Athmar Park here on the southwestern part of Denver. in both of these sections, right? Kind of all three of them, Westwoods, Amar Park, and M Bellow. Uh they're still kind of developing in terms of restaurants and kind of walkability. And you know, it does attract a lot of investors there cuz the price to rental rate is still really good. So, because the amount of homeowners just aren't over 50%, like, you know, I mean, you guys know what it's like. If there's a bunch of rentals on your street, you know it. And if there's a bunch of homeowners on your street, you know it. And these areas have just tended to attract more of the investors. And so, you know, I think that will turn as things get more expensive. Uh, as boomers, you know, start transferring properties to their millennial kids and stuff, we're going to see a lot of those properties sell and they will have to sell to owner occupants because at our current prices, it no longer makes sense to buy a rental. So, I do actually have pretty high hopes for this Ctier of neighborhoods. All right, now we're getting into the Btier neighborhoods.
Park Hill & Central Denver
[4:09] And honestly, these are all really solid places to live in. You know, we're talking we've got Park Hill here. We've got Central Park and we've got Baker neighborhoods. So, Park Hill is to the northeast of where Colorado and KFax sits. Lots of great shopping all around here. Lots of access to everything. Uh you're still close to downtown if that's your thing in this stretch of KFax here. It's a lot of great bars and restaurants on it. Then we've got Central Park to the east. Now, there's a lot more new build properties here um and focused on green space. I mean, you can just see it on the map here, right? All the parks.
[4:42] And so this is a newer community here where it used to be, you know, the old Stapleton airport, uh, that's all been redeveloped over the last 20 to 30 years or so since, you know, DIA became a thing. I forget what year they built it, uh, all the way out in Kansas. Uh, and so Central Park is a really, really nice place in general. And then you've got the Baker neighborhood, which is south of downtown Denver here with these diagonal streets here. And Baker is kind of a historic uh, neighborhood. you know, you get a lot of funky uh houses on a lot of these streets here. A lot of Victorians, you know, much more close together. You get some multif family in here. Um higher density, you know, more of that city feel as far as, you know, the different Denver neighborhoods go.
[5:27] You definitely don't feel like you're in the suburbs when you're in Baker and the stretch of Broadway here. I mean, tons of shopping, right? Restaurants, coffee shops, uh bars, whatever you pretty much want. Like, you're kind of in the mix of it. Access to things real easy. 6th Avenue and I25, you're just kind of to the northwest of Wash Park. Uh Santa Fe there, you know, to get down to Littleton area. Like real easy access here for Baker. You got to kind of want to be in Baker because it's it's definitely some different sort of houses there. Much older style. Uh so, you know, finding a fixer upper is not an uncommon thing here, right? But if you want to be close to farmers markets, right, restaurants, shops, all of these neighborhoods here are really going to sit high on a lot of people's lists.
[6:08] mostly pricing. We're looking at, you know, Park Hill is going to be the cheapest. You can get into in the fives and 600s, uh, between Baker and Central Park, like 800 plus is going to start to get you a real home here. Now, getting into the A tier neighborhoods, these are solid places, right, where many people are going to want to be. And I'm going to break it down into two different chunks here, cuz there's kind of two nice little pockets. We have the northwest side of downtown Denver and we're talking like Sloan's Lake. We're talking Highlands. We're talking lowh high. Maybe a little bit of Berkeley and Sunnyside, although I I don't put those nearly as high as the other three that I just mentioned. You know, this is where if you want your night life, right? Uh this is where it is much higher density.
Sloan's Lake & West Side
[6:48] This is, you know, when people think of Denver, just outside of downtown Denver, like they're thinking of this part of town here, right? Um, you know, accessibility to everything is is super duper easy. So, it tends to attract a much younger population uh in this part of town for lots of obvious reasons. Like, there's a lot of great houses here, but price-wise, you're starting pretty much at about a million dollars for most homes. You can get some town homes and condos in the 600s or so uh to start, but again, because you're so close to downtown, literally across I25, like access to everything is just great.
[7:24] and they have been growing parts of Denver for a long time and I think they will continue to be. So now we got to head to the southern part of Denver because there's some phenomenal neighborhoods down here too. We're talking Wellshshire, University Hills and into Holly Hills over here. This big chunk off of I25 and approximately Yale or so. And this is definitely going to be more your suburban feeling, right?
[7:46] Most of the lots are going to be 10,000 square feet. You're going to have 3,000 square foot homes. Uh price ranges here, you know, start 500s or so, 600s in U Hills and Holly Hills. Welsh is definitely some larger homes. Uh you pretty much need a million to break into there. But this is more your suburban lifestyle. This is just north of Cherry Creek area. And if you work in the DTC, right, you're two exits away. So that's one of the big draws here is that the proximity to DTC is so close. Now, getting to downtown, you're maybe 10 minutes, you know, 15 minutes with traffic to get to downtown Denver from here. Um, but again, centrally located, uh, enough for most people that are willing to drive a little bit further to get to downtown, but they value more their space. And now for the S tier, we're talking the best of the best of the best. We're going to start with the worst of the best in my opinion, and we're actually talking Plat Park. Now, I wanted to put this much higher on the list here because I do love Plat Park personally, but they do have the best farmers market in the Denver area every Sunday morning and it is worthwhile to go to. We get most of our veggies from there uh through organic farmers and we get a lot of our meat products through like we actually go grocery shopping at a farmers market and it does not break the bank. Uh and so Plant Park is just here south of I25 in between Downing and Broadway. Shopping, restaurants, Walmart. It has one of the best restaurants in Denver called Adelitas.
[9:11] If you don't know about it, you should know about it and get their mochaete. If you go there, it is way worth it. It is our favorite place to go to. Um, it's super close. Access is super easy on I25. Right, you are right there. Then we're going to head up to the northeast over to the Hilltop neighborhood. Now, the Hilltop neighborhood is east of Colorado, just south of 6th Avenue. And you get a lot of beautiful homes here, right? You're going to start having this on this boulevard strip. You're going to have old tutor homes. You're going to have, you know, old Victorians. You're going to have amazing twostory homes throughout this area. And this is really close to downtown Denver. Uh, but yet you also get that kind of suburban feel to it. So, here you do kind of have to have the money to spend in Hilltop, honestly. Like starting at a million dollars and that's going to get you a fixer upper really. 1.5 to two uh is going to be in more of the reality. But you are really close to Cherry Creek here. Um, and I'm going to address it right now. Cherry Creek did not make my list. Why? Uh, because it's totally different and outside of the norm of anything else on this list, right?
Cherry Creek & Luxury Homes
[10:17] Cherry Creek is definitely more of, you know, living in condos kind of high density feel, but but really expensive. Now, yes, it works for a lot of people, but I don't know, not many people that move here are the ones wanting to live in Cherry Creek, right? It seems to attract people who are already here that are of the young retirement age that can afford you know $3 million for you know a 2500 foot condo or town home and you know they prioritize shopping and art galleries and stuff like that like um boutique shops like that's what attracts Cherry Creek. But I just don't see too many people moving here from out of state that are like yeah Cherry Creek is my place. Actually, in 15 years, I've never had a single person say, "Yeah, Cherry Creek is the place I want to move to here from out of state. I just don't see it." Um, where Hilltop does attract quite a bit more. And then we're going to head to the number one, and for darn good reason, it is Wash Park, ladies and gentlemen. Right. So, why does it continually make the top tier neighborhood in almost every list? Well, you have Wash Park. Duh. Uh if you've ever driven around Downing Street, you know, in the morning, in the afternoon, you are going to see hundreds of people.
[11:31] But it is such a massive park. I don't I don't think people when you look at a map, you don't realize how big of a park it is. Um you know, this is an entire city block with like 12 15 homes on it each block. And it goes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 blocks north to south. I think I read somewhere what is the the loop around it is almost a 5K. It's like 3 and a half 4K something like that. Uh, it's a darn big park and it's beautiful. You know, I I drive by this just about every day. My daughter goes to Denver South High School, uh, just south of it. Like, I mean, could you imagine going to this high school? It is kind of ridiculous.
[12:06] I'm going to show it to you right now because like I still can't believe that we get to come to this building every single stink day. It looks like a college campus for crying out loud. Uh, with a bunch of teenagers there that have no idea how good that they have it in a building that beautiful. And literally across the street here, we'll just take the like this is Wash Park right here. And it's just gorgeous. They have multiple trails. You can bike through it. You can uh run through it.
[12:32] You can skiish through it if there's enough snow. Um it's just fantastic for a lot of reason. Now, outside of just having the park there, they have their own little downtown area, which is super duper cute. And so you can kind of have your little central hub without having to cross, you know, busy street or go through a stoplight, you know, and you have restaurants here. You have coffee shops here, uh, some bakeries, some cool little boutique shops, right? Farmers markets, like art festivals. You have all that stuff that happens here in Wash Park. And then, of course, access to I25, right? You're just north of DTC uh, by about three exits, four exits. And then you're just southeast of downtown Denver by again a handful of exits or you can get there kind of going through town. Like there's a lot of reasons why Wash Park consistently hits the top of the list in the streets there. Treeline streets uh smaller streets. So you may not always park in front of your own house, but they're they're just really cool homes in here. lots of tutors, lots of new builds, lots of people put their uh their kind of stamp on their architecture there because these neighborhoods will go from, you know, I'd say 1.5 on the lower end, right? You can get around a million for a property that needs a lot of work to it. On the west side of Wash Park on the east side, probably not much. 1.5 to 1.8 is about where it starts for a fixer upper. Um, but you have homes regularly here sell six to eight million dollars. Uh, because the lots are still good size.
Washington Park
[14:02] So, you can still build a 6,000 foot home if that's what you want. Uh, and you can be in an older looking street where, you know, there's not a whole lot of renters, people take care of their stuff. I don't know, it's just great. University is easy access to everything, bars, restaurants, all that stuff. You're surrounded by it. So, you kind of have your own little sanctuary in the middle of what feels like a big city.
[14:25] Now, if at this point you're finding yourself with a ton of questions about Denver, you can go ahead and download my relocation buyer guide. It's going to answer so many of those questions. But if you are ready to talk, just call me, text me. I I'm easy to talk to. I am the same person on the phone or in person as I am on this camera. I try not to change and I love talking to people about moving here because it just gets me so amped that I actually still live here.
[14:48] Now, if you're not looking to be within Denver proper and maybe you're looking for a little bit more space and you want to kind of see what areas have the most potential for growth, it's why I put together this video. Everybody asks me about what will be the hottest areas in 5 to 10 years. Well, watch that video. It'll break it all down for
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best neighborhood in Denver?
Wash Park is my top pick. It combines an 8-block park, a walkable town center with restaurants and shops, easy I-25 access between downtown and the DTC, and beautiful tree-lined streets. Prices start around $1 million on the west side and climb to $6 to $8 million for finished luxury homes.
What Denver neighborhoods should I avoid?
Globeville and Swansea sit in the D-tier. They're close to downtown with affordable prices in the $400s, but they still feel industrial after decades of slow redevelopment. They're not dangerous, they just haven't caught up to the rest of Denver yet, so expect a long runway before things change.
Does Denver have bad or dangerous neighborhoods?
Denver doesn't have true ghettos like you'd find in New York, Chicago, LA, or Miami. Every street in the city is one I'd drive my own family down at 1 a.m. Some areas are rougher than others, but Denver's baseline sits two or three notches above most major U.S. cities.
Where should young professionals live in Denver?
The northwest cluster works best: Sloan's Lake, Highlands, and LoHi. You get high-density walkability, nightlife, and a quick I-25 hop to downtown. Single-family homes start near $1 million, but townhomes and condos open up in the $600s, which keeps the area accessible for first-time buyers and renters.
What's the best Denver neighborhood for families who want space?
Wellshire, University Hills, and Holly Hills in south Denver. You get 10,000 square foot lots, 3,000 square foot homes, and a suburban feel while still being 10 to 15 minutes from downtown and two exits from the DTC. Entry prices start in the $500s and $600s.
Is Cherry Creek a good place to move to in Denver?
Cherry Creek works well for people already in Denver who want luxury condo living, shopping, and art galleries. It's less common for out-of-state relocation buyers. If you're moving here and want that upscale feel with a yard, Hilltop usually fits better at $1 to $2 million for single-family homes.
How much do Wash Park homes cost?
Wash Park fixer-uppers on the west side start around $1 million. The east side typically begins at $1.5 to $1.8 million for something that needs work. Finished homes regularly sell in the $6 to $8 million range because the lots are big enough to support 6,000 square foot custom builds.
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