The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Golden, CO
Golden is a city of 44,100 in Jefferson County, about 12 miles west of downtown Denver · Updated November 2026
Is Golden, CO safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Golden is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Golden 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+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Golden run from A+ to C-, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 854 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
54% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Golden as a whole, and 46% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Golden scores 854.
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 Golden, CO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Golden, 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 Golden
One part of Golden stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Applewood & Edgemont, in east Golden, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Golden
Most of Golden grades well: 96% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Golden run from A+ to C-; 70% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
96%
A or B 96%C 4%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Genesse North Central, southwestThefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Golden.A+939
2Lakota Hills, southThefts run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Golden.A887
3West Woods, northeastThefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Golden.A884
4Applewood & Edgemont, eastBurglaries run at more than double the rate in the rest of Golden.B+763
5Union Square & Daniels, southeastCar thefts run at more than double the rate in the rest of Golden.B+745
Neighborhood areas of Golden, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Crime rates and types in Golden
CrimeGrade™ estimates Golden has about 47 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 25% 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Golden is theft, about 50% 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.
Where and when crime happens in Golden
Golden has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Golden, 44% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 32% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (44%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Homes (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (32%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (28%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (38%)
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 Golden compares with nearby cities
Golden has less crime than 7 of its 8 nearest cities; only Fairmount has less.
Two things set Golden apart: it has 110 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 17.8 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery; here theft and robbery sit near the national middle.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.110 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 97% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.17.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 94% 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. 86% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 57% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.4.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 74% 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.80% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 71% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Golden on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Golden
Crime costs Golden about $1,068 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 11% 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 $43 million a year, or $968 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.1 million
$25
Rape
$890,000
$20
Robbery
$620,000
$14
Assault
$4.6 million
$105
Burglary
$1.2 million
$28
Theft
$5.3 million
$120
Vehicle theft
$2.2 million
$50
Arson
$210,000
$5
Vandalism
$2.4 million
$55
Total
$19 million
$422
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 Golden 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 Golden, CO average a SchoolGrade of A: 51% of students test proficient, against 44% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Golden on SchoolGrade
