Black Hawk is a city of 3,620 in Gilpin County, about 25 miles west of downtown Denver · Updated November 2026
Is Black Hawk, CO safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Black Hawk is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Black Hawk sits near the middle: 54% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 46% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against B+. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 857 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
54% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Black Hawk as a whole, and 46% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Black Hawk scores 857.
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 Black Hawk, CO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Black Hawk, 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 Black Hawk
Thefts run high. Black Hawk has thefts at more than triple the US rate: 60.7 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Black Hawk
CrimeGrade™ estimates Black Hawk has about 97 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and about double the rate for 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Black Hawk is theft, about 63% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.
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.
How Black Hawk compares with nearby cities
Black Hawk has the most crime of its 3 nearest cities.
Night lighting, walkability and density in Black Hawk
Two things set Black Hawk apart: it has 1% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally, and a Walk Grade of F (1 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and vandalism, yet theft and vandalism run higher here than that would suggest.
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.1% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 99% of US city residents
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 and assault. 100% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (1 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 99% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.NoneUS: 24%Lower than for 97% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.99 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 96% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.14.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 86% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 82% of US city residents
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 Black Hawk
Crime costs Black Hawk about $2,004 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 66% more than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $5.6 million a year, or $1,548 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$130,000
$36
Rape
$63,000
$17
Robbery
$64,000
$18
Assault
$770,000
$213
Burglary
$37,000
$10
Theft
$1.1 million
$312
Vehicle theft
$130,000
$37
Arson
$10,000
$3
Vandalism
$340,000
$94
Total
$2.7 million
$739
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 Black Hawk 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. Black Hawk is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 Black Hawk, CO average a SchoolGrade of A+: 57% of students test proficient, against 46% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Black Hawk on SchoolGrade
