The Safest and Most Dangerous Cities in Colorado

Best and Worst Cities for Crime in Colorado

There is a wide range of terrain and character across the unique cities that make up Colorado. Desert-like areas, such as the Sand Dunes and Colorado Plateau, mix with lush forests. Then, there are urban areas like Denver and college towns like Boulder and Fort Collins. Colorado is also home to towering mountains and far more farmland than most non-Coloradans realize.

Colorado cities with the highest and lowest crime rates

(per 100,000 people)

Note: Excluding cities with crime rates of zero. Source: 2023 FBI Data

Likewise, not every city in Colorado is the same when it comes to the different types and rates of crime. For example, Pueblo and Denver are the cities with the highest violent crimes, but Milliken and Castle Rock have the lowest violent crimes in the state. When we look at property crime, Lone Tree and Edgewater topped the list of cities with the highest rates, while Crested Butte and Severance were at the bottom. The folks living in Gypsum will be relieved to learn that their town is among the three cities in Colorado with the lowest rates for both violent and property crime.

Why Does Denver Have a High Violent Crime Rate?

Studies continue to show that improved access to affordable housing can reduce the risk of criminal activity.¹ Unfortunately, this is bad news for Denver. Its median property value was $586,700 in 2023, which is 1.93 times bigger than the nation’s $303,400 median property value. With homes so expensive, it’s no wonder the homeownership rate in Denver is below half (49.1 percent) and lower than the country’s 65 percent average.²

Why Does Pueblo Have a High Violent Crime Rate?

Research also finds that higher employment and better wages are associated with lower crime.³ Sadly, Pueblo’s once prosperous economy has seen a decline for more than a quarter-century. The town, formerly known as the “Steel City”, “Pittsburgh of the West”, and the “Saddle-Making Capital of the World”, was once the smelting capital of the world. By 1910, Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I) had 15,000 employees in Pueblo, which was about one-tenth of the whole state’s workforce at the time. It remained the biggest industrial corporation in Colorado during the Roaring '20s. Despite ongoing labor disputes and fatal strikes (including the brutal Ludlow Massacre), steel continued as a vital industry for Pueblo throughout the late 19th century and most of the 20th century, shaping its political, cultural, and economic identity.⁴

The nation’s steel industry started to deteriorate when retail trade began to take off in 1970, and the steel market crashed in 1982. In 1983, CF&I laid off 60 percent of its employees and ultimately went bankrupt in 1990. Roughly half a century later, Pueblo is still left struggling for better employment opportunities and more stable income. The steel mill is now owned by a Russian company, and with 90 percent of the mill jobs now gone, it represents about 10 percent of the mill workforce. Manufacturing jobs in Pueblo have been on a consistent decline for decades: Only about 6 percent of the town’s jobs were in manufacturing as of 2020.

Between 2008 and March 2020, the city only added 5,000 jobs despite 111,750 people living there. The median income remained relatively stagnant with only a slight increase during the same extended period.⁵ From March 2023 to March 2025 Pueblo Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had the lowest job growth rate of the seven MSAs in Colorado surveyed. At -1.2 percent, Pueblo MSA was one of only two MSAs that had negative rates, meaning employment levels decreased during the two-year period.⁶

Cities With the Lowest Crime in Colorado

What is Gypsum “doing right” to secure a spot in the top three safest towns in Colorado for both property and violent crime? In 2023, the median household income in Gypsum was an impressive $124,534.⁷ This is especially notable when considering a household in places like Pueblo ($55,305) had much lower median household incomes in the same year.⁸ Other factors also contribute to the minimal criminal incidents in cities like Gypsum. These include smaller populations, quality of education, housing stability, job availability, and accessibility of outdoor activities, parks, and other public facilities.

Colorado Crime Rates

Colorado’s property and violent crime rates could certainly be better. The state ranked seventh in the nation for highest violent crime and came in third for property crime in 2023. Property crime includes illegal acts like burglary, larceny, arson, and motor vehicle theft. Motor vehicle theft has been a major area of focus in Colorado because the state topped national charts in recent years. Though it is improving, it is still well above the national average.

Violent crime rates

(per 100,000 residents)

Vehicle Theft Trends in Colorado

After ranking first in the nation for vehicle theft in 2021 and 2022, the state’s initiatives aiming to restrain vehicle theft seem to be paying off.⁹ Colorado’s auto theft rate decreased 21 percent between 2022 and 2023. Despite the improvement in vehicle theft compared to preceding years, Colorado remained near the top of the list of states with the worst vehicle thefts in 2023. With a vehicle theft rate of 651.9 per 100,000 people, Colorado was 104.5 percent above the national average and was the fourth highest in the country.

Property crime rates

(per 100,000 residents)

The redeeming news for Colorado is that the decrease in vehicle thefts between 2022 and 2023 for both rate and volume is continuing. The hopeful trend persists as there was a 25 percent decline in reported stolen vehicles by volume in the state from 2023 to 2024.¹⁰ The recent year-on-year reduction in reported stolen vehicles suggests that initiatives like legislation, public education, upgraded theft tracking/reporting systems, and other related measures are probably having a beneficial effect on vehicle theft in the state.¹¹

Stay Safe Colorado

With 300 days of sunshine, endless opportunities for outdoor adventures, and breathtaking views, there’s a reason Coloradans are proud of where they live. However, every place comes with its downfalls, and there is no guarantee of being perfectly safe from crime, no matter where you live. So, remember to lock up your cars and stay safe out there.

Where Our Crime Data Comes From

Unless specified otherwise, the information in this article is based on crime data compiled by the FBI and made available through the Crime Data Explorer. Statewide violent and property crime statistics are drawn from the FBI’s 2023 Crime in the United States Report (Table 5), and for city-level crime rates, we referred to Table 8, which lists reported offenses by state and city.

Important note: Crime statistics offer valuable insights, but they aren’t the only way to evaluate a community’s safety. Local context, law enforcement practices, and reporting standards can all influence how crime is recorded. Additionally, FBI publication tables and the data displayed on the Crime Data Explorer may differ slightly due to variations in methodology.