The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Centennial, CO
Centennial is a city of 84,100 in Arapahoe County, about 12 miles southeast of downtown Denver · Updated November 2026
Is Centennial, CO safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Centennial is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Centennial sits near the middle: 48% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 52% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Centennial run from A to B, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 828 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
48% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Centennial as a whole, and 52% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Centennial scores 828.
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 Centennial, CO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Centennial, 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 Centennial
Car thefts run high for an A-graded city. Centennial has 2.8 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.93.
Aggravated assaults and simple assaults both run low. In Centennial, each runs at about half the US rate: 1.3 aggravated assaults and 5.3 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 and 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Centennial
Every part of Centennial where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Centennial run from A to B; 37% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Centennial, the east side has the least crime and the northeast side the most.
Is crime going up in Centennial?
Reported violent crime in Centennial peaked in 2022 and has fallen 23% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is up 1% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults stayed at about 1.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts stayed at about 17 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 21% and property crime fell 13%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
CentennialUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Centennial. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Centennial
Violent, US
Property, Centennial
Property, US
2016
-3%
+4%
-17%
+15%
2017
-23%
+4%
+1%
+12%
2018
+15%
+0%
+10%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-5%
+4%
+17%
-8%
2021
+16%
+6%
+27%
-10%
2022
+34%
+5%
+37%
-6%
2023
+30%
+2%
+16%
-7%
2024
+3%
-4%
+1%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Centennial
CrimeGrade™ estimates Centennial has about 28 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 25% less than the US as a whole and 42% less than 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 Centennial, about 36% 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 Centennial
Centennial has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Centennial, 30% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 52% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (46%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (53%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (52%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (58%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Other places (37%)
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 Centennial compares with nearby cities
Centennial has less crime than 5 of its 8 nearest cities.
Two things set Centennial apart: it has 2.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 23 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, yet burglary, vandalism 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, vandalism and arson.2.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 92% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.23 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 83% 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. 89% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (15 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 58% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.6.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 82% of US city residents
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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 75% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 73% 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 Centennial
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Centennial about $706 a year per household, 41% less 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 $44 million a year, or $528 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.0 million
$12
Rape
$470,000
$6
Robbery
$460,000
$5
Assault
$6.3 million
$75
Burglary
$1.7 million
$20
Theft
$4.3 million
$52
Vehicle theft
$3.6 million
$43
Arson
$310,000
$4
Vandalism
$3.4 million
$40
Total
$22 million
$256
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 Centennial 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 Centennial, CO average a SchoolGrade of A: 51% of students test proficient, against 42% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Centennial on SchoolGrade
