The 20 Safest Cities in Colorado—2017

From small, quaint towns like Severance and Platteville to much larger cities such as Parker and Centennial, Colorado’s safest places to live all have one thing in common—a commitment to citizens’ well-being. But the state’s safety-minded causes aren’t limited to the twenty cities on our list. Proactive programs like the Gang Reduction Initiative of Denver (GRID)—which recently served its 500th gang affiliate—are found throughout Colorado, helping keep crime rates low.

Forward-thinking safety measures may be one reason the twenty safest cities in Colorado report an average of less than one violent crime per 1,000 people, according to the FBI’s most recent crime report. That’s one third of the national rate. What’s more, four of these cities—Dacono, Rocky Ford, Frederick, and Eagle—reported no incidents of murder or rape in 2015.

The leaders, law enforcement officers, and citizens of eighth-ranked Frederick deserve added praise, as their city had the lowest overall violent crime rate of any city on our list, with just 0.09 crimes reported for every 1,000 people.

The impressively low crime rate of The Centennial State’s safest cities carried through to property crime, where they cited fewer than seven of these crimes per 1,000 people. Taking a closer look at the FBI report, we were pleased to find that nine cities reported zero motor vehicle thefts. Additionally, over half of the twenty safest cities in Colorado cited fewer than fifty burglaries—which is a good indication that citizens are looking out for one another and reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement.

Review our list to learn which cities in Colorado have the lowest crime rates. Then refer to our Colorado Safety Directory for home security information, safety resources, and a map showing the state’s most and least burglarized counties.

How We Chose the Safest Cities in Colorado

To identify the twenty safest cities in Colorado, we reviewed the 2015 FBI crime report statistics and population data. We eliminated all cities with fewer than 3,000 residents as well as any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI.

From there, we evaluated the remaining cities. We narrowed it down based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) in each city. To level the playing field, we calculated the likelihood of these crimes occurring out of 1,000 people in each city.

Learn more about how we rank our Safest Cities reports.

1. Yuma ↑

Previous rank: 3

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.28
Property Crimes per 1,000: 0.83

2. Dacono ↓

Previous rank: 1

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.22
Property Crimes per 1,000: 1.08

3. Eaton ↓

Previous rank: 2

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.62
Property Crimes per 1,000: 0.41

4. Rocky Ford 

Previous rank: 4

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.30 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 1.82

5. Severance ↑

Previous rank: 6

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.83
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.60

6. Johnstown ↑

Previous rank: 11

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.21
Property Crimes per 1,000: 4.76

7. Louisville

Previous rank: N/A

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.78
Property Crimes per 1,000: 5.59

8. Frederick ↓

Previous rank: 7

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.09
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.31

9. Firestone ↑

Previous rank: 13

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.34
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.90

10. Erie 

Previous rank: 10

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.90
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.78

11. Eagle ↑

Previous rank: 15

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.06
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.98

12. Milliken ↓

Previous rank: 8

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.48
Property Crimes per 1,000: 8.70

13. Gypsum

Previous rank: N/A

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.75
Property Crimes per 1,000: 7.85

14. Fort Lupton ↓

Previous rank: 12

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.52
Property Crimes per 1,000: 8.26

15. Windsor  ↓

Previous rank: 14

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.37 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.48

16. Parker ↑

Previous rank: 18

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.08
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.08

17. Estes Park

Previous rank: N/A

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.80
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.02

18. Centennial ↓

Previous rank: 16

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.26
Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.98

19. Lochbuie

Previous rank: N/A

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 2.58
Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.04

20. Platteville

Previous rank: N/A

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.27
Property Crimes per 1,000: 13.68

How safe is your home?

Wherever you live, feeling safe in your home can bring greater peace of mind and happiness. Whether your city made our list or not, we recommend adding extra security to your home with monitored security services provided by the nation’s leading home security providers.

To learn more about the home security options available to you, check out SafeWise’s picks for Best Home Security Systems of 2018 or select the city nearest you in the drop down menu below.