Lakewood, CO — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Colorado·Lakewood

Jefferson County · Denver-Aurora-Lakewood · population 156,868

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Lakewood, CO
Image: Wikipedia · Lakewood, Colorado
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
47
Cooling
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Lakewood stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $575,076
1-year -2.6%
5-yr CAGR +2.3%
vs 5-yr peak -7.3%
Population +0.1%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$575k$311k$422k$534k$645k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
52/100
Somewhat walkable
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
73/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,786/mo$1,407$1,696$1,984202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent112119100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 26.8
Rent

At a 26.8 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Lakewood for most shorter holds. The premium you pay to own would take many years of rent savings to recoup, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and opportunity cost on the down payment.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
37 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
49 · w22%
Distance from peak
53 · w18%
Population growth
48 · w16%
Rent YoY
36 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
65 · w10%
Long thesis

Lakewood has held up across the cycle: home values at $575,076 with +2.3% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Lakewood's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Lakewood

Lakewood is a city in Jefferson County, Colorado, with an estimated population of 156,868. It anchors the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro area. The median home value in Lakewood is $575,076 as of 2026-04, down 2.6% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.3% annual growth (-7.3% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Lakewood average $1,786 per month, down 1.8% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 47 of 100 (Cooling). Buyers may find more room to negotiate; sellers should price realistically.

▲ Bull case

○The data is the data: Lakewood has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 1-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Cooling: -2.6% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Lakewood (Wikipedia)

Lakewood is the home rule city that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. census, making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in Colorado and the 167th most populous city in the United States. Lakewood is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and a major city of the Front Range Urban Corridor.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorWendi Strom citation needed
Elevation5519 ft
PlattedJuly 1, 1889
Density3,588/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

You have leverage. Negotiate price, ask for closing-cost credits, and don't waive inspection. Walk-away power is real in a Cooling market — use it.

Seller

Price aggressively (at or below recent sold comps) or be prepared to wait. Concessions — rate buydowns, closing costs, repair credits — are how deals close right now.

Investor

Cap rates are more attractive than they were 12 months ago but the appreciation tailwind is gone. Confirm tenant demand, vacancy rates, and exit liquidity before committing capital.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Jefferson County right now.

NWS active alerts (CO)Colorado Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Jefferson County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Lakewood

27 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Solterra$1,066,505-3.0%
2Bear Creek$1,043,992+2.0%
3Applewood Knolls$904,656-0.3%
4Applewood Valley$861,312-0.9%
5Green Acres$812,079-1.2%
6Green Mountainside$735,995-1.3%
7West Alameda Heights$686,088-1.9%
8Belmar Gardens$673,755-2.2%
9Holbrok Park$658,788+0.4%
10Westgate$656,852-2.1%
11Morse Park$651,694-2.0%
12Green Mountain Village$650,419-1.6%
13Southern Gables$629,024-2.6%
14Bonvue$626,473-2.6%
15Mid Lakewood$599,869-2.8%
16Sun Valley$589,349-3.1%
17Belmar$588,192-3.9%
18West Lochwood$578,010-1.7%
19Thraemoor$567,188-3.1%
20Daniels-Welchester$549,499-3.4%
21Okane Park$546,433-6.6%
22Eiber$521,050-3.0%
23Greenbrier Cloverdale$520,274-3.7%
24Jefferson Gardens$509,482-2.9%

See the full neighborhood ranking →

Cities like Lakewood

Longmont, CO47 · CoolingCentennial, CO48 · StableArvada, CO46 · CoolingWestminster, CO45 · Cooling

Run the numbers for Lakewood

ToolCan I afford Lakewood?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Lakewood rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Lakewood to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolLakewood cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
43° / 16°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
86° / 56°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
245
~67% of year
Annual precip
17″ rain
55″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Moderate
Wildfire
High
Earthquake
Low
Flood
Low

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Lakewood listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
54%
Dry climate
Median household income
$87,600
Colorado state median
Top industries (state-level)
TechAerospaceHealthcare

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

Cities similar to Lakewood

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