Five Points and West Denver are two of the city's go-to neighborhoods. But have you ever wondered how they stack up against each other?
Using data from a variety of private sources like Yelp, Zumper and CrimeoMeter, along with public census data, we crunched the numbers to look at how these two areas differ, from rental prices to restaurant density and types of cuisine.
Overall, Five Points has a much higher concentration of most types of businesses, but also tends to have higher prices, while West Denver offers larger living spaces and lower crime. Here's the full breakdown of the Five Points versus West Denver matchup, by the numbers.
Food & Entertainment
When it comes to restaurant density, Five Points wins big: it currently boasts approximately 57 restaurants per square mile, whereas West Denver has close to 14 restaurants per square mile. In terms of restaurant volume by population, West Denver fares slightly better — but its restaurant volume per thousand residents still pales in comparison to Five Points' (2.25 vs 9.03).
The two neighborhoods also differ somewhat in terms of restaurant quality. According to reviews published by local Yelpers, the average rating of Five Points restaurants is 3.71 (out of five), while those in West Denver have an average rating of 3.21. Although West Denver’s 3.21 average restaurant rating is fairly strong, this difference speaks to the excellent quality of dining options in Five Points.
When you start to look at restaurants by cuisine, things get a bit more interesting.
In spite of its lower density of restaurants overall, West Denver outdoes Five Points when it comes to sandwiches and Mexican food. According to Yelpers, the average West Denver sandwich shop has a 4.5 star rating compared to a respectable 3.76 for similar options in Five Points (though it's worth noting that Five Points has many more sandwich shops than West Denver). While not to the same extent, this is also true for Mexican restaurants, with those in West Denver getting marginally better ratings on average.
The numbers don’t lie: Denverites love to brunch. Both neighborhoods score highly for breakfast and brunch options, with Five Points expectedly having many more options to choose from (11.82 vs 1.59 spots per square mile). But here, too, West Denver takes the (pan)cake, with its breakfast and brunch spots scoring slightly higher on average among Yelpers (4.00 vs 3.92).
If art galleries are your thing, then it's a virtual no-contest: Five Points is where you want to be. With 11.82 art galleries per square mile, Five Points has a more vibrant art scene in comparison to West Denver's 0.68 galleries per square mile.
The same goes for nightlife. While Denver has a thriving nightlife scene with tons of great breweries and bars throughout the city, Five Points has almost 10 times more nightlife options than does West Denver, with 42.44 nightlife destinations per square mile compared to 4.54. This difference is also reflected in how Yelpers rate neighborhood businesses, with bars and breweries in West Denver getting an average 3.10 rating, in comparison to an impressive 3.67 for Five Points.
Cost of Living
In April, the median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in West Denver was $1,399, almost 6% higher than the median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Five Points ($1,327).
Interestingly, the median size of a 1-bedroom apartment rental in West Denver (650 square feet) was also more than 4% higher than similar apartments in Five Points (620 square feet). This means that even though you get a little more space renting a 1-bedroom apartment in West Denver, the higher rental prices generally reflect this difference. Overall, we found that renting in West Denver gives you a slightly bigger bang for your buck, but marginally so.
The equation changes when looking at larger luxury apartments with four or more bedrooms, where the median rental price per square foot in Five Points was almost 18% higher than in West Denver.
Based on our analysis of Yelp’s price-range data, you'll spend more for everyday items in Five Points than in West Denver (and may want to invest in a coffeemaker at home.)
The average pizza shop in Five Points is approximately 7.4% more expensive than the average pizza joint in West Denver, and the average coffee shop in Five Points is almost 17% more expensive than in West Denver.
Five Points also came out to be significantly more expensive when we compared health and fitness locations in both neighborhoods. Gyms and workout studios in West Denver are on average almost 14% cheaper than those in Five Points.
When it comes to nightlife, however, West Denver tends to be harder on the wallet: The average bar/nightclub in West Denver is approximately 4% more expensive than its Five Points counterpart.
Community & Services
Access to education can be a big part of what makes a strong community. We looked at the number of schools and educational institutions in these neighborhoods and found that Five Points has 2.69 educational institutions per thousand residents, as compared to 1.20 in West Denver.
Five Points also has a far greater density of religious organizations, with approximately 2.06 organizations per thousand people, compared to 0.19 in West Denver.
To understand how these neighborhoods compare when it comes to public safety, we also analyzed crime data from multiple data providers.
According to official police reports, in the month of April, West Denver experienced far less crime in general compared to Five Points, with 12.76 and 33.95 crime incidents per thousand residents, respectively. This held true for virtually all types of crime reported:
- West Denver saw 1.05 assault-related crime incidents per thousand residents, compared to 3.23 per thousand residents in Five Points
- West Denver also saw lower levels of theft-related crime incidents, with 1.05 per thousand residents, in comparison to Five Points' 4.16
- Automobile burglary incidents per thousand residents reported in Five Points were also significantly higher than those in West Denver (2.65 vs. 0.83)
When it comes to gas stations, West Denver comes out ahead with 1.59 gas stations per square mile compared to 1.34 gas stations per square mile in Five Points, representing a difference of almost 20%.
According to the numbers, Five Points has 0.29 childcare facilities per thousand residents compared with 0.19 childcare facilities per thousand residents in West Denver. But West Denver edges out Five Points — just barely — when it comes to dog walkers and petsitters: It's got 0.19 dog walkers and petsitting providers per thousand residents, compared to 0.17 in Five Points.
However, Five Points has a greater density of public parks, with 1.88 parks per square mile compared to 1.13 in West Denver.
So, which area comes out on top? It depends what you're after — but both West Denver and Five Points have much to recommend them.
