The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Arapahoe County, CO
Arapahoe County, the third-most populous county in Colorado, is home to 659,800 residents and includes Aurora and Centennial · Updated November 2026
Is Arapahoe County, CO safe?
Crime in Arapahoe County is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B-. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 76% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Arapahoe County. Violent crime grades B and property crime C+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Arapahoe County run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
B-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 610 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
24% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Arapahoe County as a whole, and 76% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Arapahoe County scores 610.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Arapahoe County, CO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Arapahoe County, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Arapahoe County
Vehicle theft stands out among B-graded counties. For the typical resident of a B-graded US county, the figure is 3.5 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents; Arapahoe County has 6.7.
Burglaries happen at stores and businesses more often than nationally. In Arapahoe County, 48% of reported burglaries happen at stores and businesses, against 28% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Arapahoe County
Safety changes a lot from one part of Arapahoe County to the next: 59% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 28% live in areas graded D or F. Grades across Arapahoe County run from A+ to F; 21% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
59%13%28%
A or B 59%C 13%D or F 28%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Arapahoe County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the southeast side has the least crime and the Aurora area the most.
Is crime going up in Arapahoe County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Arapahoe County is up 38%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.3 to 6.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 28 to 29 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 15%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Arapahoe CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Arapahoe County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Arapahoe County
Violent, US
Property, Arapahoe County
Property, US
2016
-20%
+4%
-2%
+15%
2017
-10%
+4%
+5%
+12%
2018
+6%
+0%
+6%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+23%
+4%
+16%
-8%
2021
+48%
+6%
+32%
-10%
2022
+63%
+5%
+40%
-6%
2023
+39%
+2%
+21%
-7%
2024
+38%
-4%
+3%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Arapahoe County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Arapahoe County has about 52 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 40% more than the US as a whole and close to Colorado.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Arapahoe County, about 34% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Arapahoe County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Arapahoe County, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 39% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (48%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (35%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (36%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (44%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Arapahoe County compares with nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Arapahoe County, 9 have less crime. Elbert County and Clear Creek County have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Arapahoe County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Arapahoe County has more crime than 86% of them.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in Arapahoe County
One thing sets Arapahoe County apart: it has 4.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary and arson, yet burglary and arson run higher here than that would suggest.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.4.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 84% of Americans
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.99% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 81% of Americans
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 77% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (20 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 65% of Americans
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.53 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 78% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.33% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 74% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.9.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 65% of Americans
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Arapahoe County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Arapahoe County about $1,725 a year per household, 43% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $432 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $1.36 billion a year, or $2,068 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$71 million
$107
Rape
$21 million
$32
Robbery
$18 million
$27
Assault
$128 million
$194
Burglary
$21 million
$32
Theft
$60 million
$90
Vehicle theft
$68 million
$103
Arson
$3.5 million
$5
Vandalism
$42 million
$64
Total
$432 million
$655
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Arapahoe County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Arapahoe County, CO average a SchoolGrade of C: 36% of students test proficient, against 32% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Arapahoe County on SchoolGrade
