If you are moving to Denver, the hardest early decision is not which apartment to rent. It is which part of the city to rent in. Denver’s neighborhoods differ more than newcomers expect: a century-old walk-up on Capitol Hill and a 35-story tower by Union Station are two very different ways to live, even though they sit less than two miles apart.
This guide groups Denver’s twelve apartment neighborhoods into five areas and describes each one using the buildings in our own index: 194 apartment buildings and 34,357 apartments across the City and County of Denver. Every figure below comes from that data, which is built from building websites, management companies and Denver assessor records. You can browse all of it on the full A to Z list or by neighborhood.
How to think about Denver’s neighborhoods
Three questions sort most people quickly:
- Do you want to live without a car? If so, stay close to downtown and Union Station, where rail and the most frequent buses meet.
- Do you prefer new construction or character? New buildings cluster north and west of downtown. Older buildings, many from before 1950, cluster in Capitol Hill and Uptown.
- How big a building do you want? Downtown towers hold several hundred apartments each. Highland, Sloan’s Lake and Baker are mostly smaller, mid-rise buildings.
Downtown and the Union Station area
Four neighborhoods make up Denver’s core: LoDo / Ballpark, Union Station / Central Platte Valley, Downtown / Central Business District and Golden Triangle / Civic Center.
Together they hold 66 of the buildings in our index and 15,419 apartments, about 45% of every unit we track. These are the tallest buildings in the city. The tallest in the index is 35 stories, in the Union Station area, and the Downtown zone has one at 31.
The biggest practical advantage here is the airport. RTD’s A Line runs from Union Station to Denver International Airport in about 37 minutes, according to RTD, with trains every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you fly often for work, that matters.
The four zones are not interchangeable:
- Union Station / Central Platte Valley (15 buildings, 3,845 apartments) is almost entirely 21st century. The oldest building we list there was completed in 2000.
- LoDo / Ballpark (13 buildings, 2,804 apartments) mixes converted warehouses with newer towers. Our oldest LoDo building dates to 1891.
- Downtown / Central Business District (17 buildings, 3,560 apartments) has the high-rises and the office core.
- Golden Triangle / Civic Center (21 buildings, 5,210 apartments) is the museum district and has been built out fast. Its median building was completed in 2021.
For a closer comparison of rail access, see our post on living car-free near Union Station.
Capitol Hill and Uptown
East of downtown, across Broadway, are Capitol Hill / Cheesman Park and Uptown / North Capitol Hill. Colfax Avenue is the dividing line.
This is Denver’s older, denser residential core, and the numbers show it. Capitol Hill has more buildings than any other zone in the index (28) but only 2,208 apartments, because the buildings are small. Its median building was completed in 1966, and the oldest we list dates to 1889. Uptown’s 20 buildings hold 3,357 apartments with a median completion year of 1985.
What that means day to day: more character and usually more modest rents, but also older systems. Many older buildings have radiator heat and shared laundry. In-unit washers and dryers are listed as standard in only 5 of the 28 Capitol Hill buildings in our index. On the other hand, 26 of those 28 say on their own websites that they accept pets.
We compared these neighborhoods with the Golden Triangle in a separate post.
RiNo and Five Points
North of downtown, RiNo / Five Points has become one of Denver’s largest apartment districts. Our index lists 20 buildings with 5,791 apartments, the most units of any zone. None of them is older than 2010, and the median was completed in 2019.
New construction brings newer amenities. Fourteen of the 20 RiNo buildings list in-unit laundry as standard, the highest share in the city, and 17 list a fitness center. The A Line also stops at 38th & Blake, so the airport is a straight shot from here too.
West of I-25: Highland and Sloan’s Lake
Across the highway to the west are LoHi / Highland / Jefferson Park and Sloan’s Lake / West Colfax.
These are smaller-building neighborhoods. LoHi’s 19 buildings average about 83 apartments each, and Sloan’s Lake’s 12 average about 108. On the Sloan’s Lake side, the lake itself is the draw: a 177-acre lake inside Denver’s second-largest park. Sloan’s Lake buildings are among the newest in the city, with a median completion year of 2021. The W Line serves the area from Decatur–Federal station.
We go deeper on these two in LoHi and Highland or Sloan’s Lake?
South and east: Baker, Cherry Creek and Central Park / Lowry
Three zones round out the list:
- Baker / South Broadway / Platt Park (10 buildings, 1,555 apartments) runs along South Broadway’s shops and bars down to Platt Park. Light rail’s E and H lines stop at Louisiana–Pearl, and South Pearl Street hosts a Sunday farmers market in season.
- Cherry Creek / Country Club (13 buildings, 1,586 apartments) is Denver’s upscale shopping district, with towers up to 24 stories. Part of it is the Glendale enclave, which is a separate city in Arapahoe County, so check the address if city services matter to you.
- Central Park / Lowry (6 buildings, 1,565 apartments) covers two large redevelopments on the east side. Central Park was built on the old Stapleton airport, which closed in 1995, and Lowry on a former Air Force base. The buildings are big and fairly new, with a median completion year of 2015.
These areas are farther from downtown rail. If you are planning to commute by transit, check your route before signing.
Comparing the neighborhoods at a glance
- Most apartments: RiNo / Five Points (5,791) and Golden Triangle (5,210)
- Most buildings: Capitol Hill / Cheesman Park (28)
- Oldest housing stock: Capitol Hill (median 1966) and Uptown (median 1985)
- Newest housing stock: Golden Triangle and Sloan’s Lake (median 2021), then RiNo (2019)
- Tallest buildings: Union Station (up to 35 stories) and Downtown (up to 31)
- Best airport access: Union Station area and RiNo, on the A Line
Frequently asked questions
What is the best neighborhood in Denver for someone moving here without a car?
The Union Station / Central Platte Valley area and nearby LoDo and Downtown are the strongest options. Union Station is the hub for RTD’s commuter rail, including the A Line to the airport, which takes about 37 minutes.
Which Denver neighborhood has the most apartment buildings?
In our index, Capitol Hill / Cheesman Park has the most buildings (28), but RiNo / Five Points has the most apartments (5,791), because its buildings are much larger.
Where are the newest apartment buildings in Denver?
Golden Triangle / Civic Center and Sloan’s Lake / West Colfax have the newest stock in our index, with median completion years of 2021. Every building we list in RiNo / Five Points was completed in 2010 or later.
Where can I find older apartment buildings with character in Denver?
Capitol Hill / Cheesman Park and Uptown / North Capitol Hill. Capitol Hill’s median building in our index was completed in 1966, and six of its buildings were completed before 1950, the oldest in 1889.
Neighborhood figures are from the DenverApartmentBuildings.com index as of October 2026: 194 buildings and 34,357 apartments. Year-built and floor counts come from building websites and Denver assessor records; a building with no published figure is left out of that statistic rather than estimated.