The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Douglas County, CO
Douglas County is home to 377,200 residents and includes Castle Rock and Parker · Updated November 2026
Is Douglas County, CO safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Douglas County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 62% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Douglas County run from A+ to B, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 886 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
62% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Douglas County as a whole, and 38% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Douglas County scores 886.
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 Douglas County, CO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Douglas 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 Douglas County
Robberies are uncommon. Douglas County has robberies at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.11 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Car thefts happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Douglas County, 49% of reported car thefts happen in parking lots and garages, against 23% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Douglas County
Every part of Douglas County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Douglas County run from A+ to B; 80% 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.
Cities and towns in Douglas 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 Larkspur and Sedalia areas have the least crime and the Lone Tree, Littleton, and Englewood areas the most.
Is crime going up in Douglas County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Douglas County is up 20%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.4 to 1.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 15 to 14 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Douglas CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Douglas County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Douglas County
Violent, US
Property, Douglas County
Property, US
2016
+1%
+4%
-7%
+15%
2017
+2%
+4%
+5%
+12%
2018
+12%
+0%
+7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+9%
+4%
+8%
-8%
2021
+19%
+6%
+21%
-10%
2022
+26%
+5%
+17%
-6%
2023
+17%
+2%
+11%
-7%
2024
+20%
-4%
-1%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Douglas County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Douglas County has about 25 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 32% less than the US as a whole and 47% 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 makes up about 49% of crime reported in Douglas County. Assault is less common but 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 Douglas County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Douglas County, 2022 to 2024.
In Douglas County, 40% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 47% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (40%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (49%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (47%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (31%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (54%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
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 Douglas County compares with nearby counties
Douglas County has less crime than 5 of its 10 nearest counties.
Empty homes, shops and walkability in Douglas County
Two things set Douglas County apart: it has 2.6% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and a Walk Grade of D- (10 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less burglary and arson, yet arson runs 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.2.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 86% 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. 91% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (10 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 78% of Americans
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.38 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 66% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Douglas County: D- (7 of 100).1 trips an hourUS: noneLower than for 61% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.21% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 58% 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 Douglas County
Crime costs Douglas County about $674 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 44% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $88 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 $225 million a year, or $597 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$6.9 million
$18
Rape
$6.3 million
$17
Robbery
$1.3 million
$3
Assault
$25 million
$67
Burglary
$5.4 million
$14
Theft
$24 million
$63
Vehicle theft
$6.3 million
$17
Arson
$610,000
$2
Vandalism
$12 million
$31
Total
$88 million
$232
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 Douglas 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 Douglas County, CO average a SchoolGrade of A+: 58% of students test proficient, against 50% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Douglas County on SchoolGrade
