North Boulder is a neighborhood of 13,400 residents in Boulder, about 2 miles north of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is North Boulder in Boulder safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in North Boulder is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so North Boulder sits near the middle: 55% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 45% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against B+. Boulder as a whole grades A-. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to B+; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 859 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
55% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than North Boulder as a whole, and 45% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. North Boulder scores 859.
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 North Boulder, Boulder, CO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in North Boulder in Boulder, 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 North Boulder
Simple assault runs low. North Boulder has 4.6 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 9.7.
How North Boulder compares within Boulder
Every part of North Boulder where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across North Boulder run from A to B+; 75% 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.
North Boulder has less crime than 7 of the 9 neighborhoods in Boulder. It covers much of the North Boulder area and the Crossroads and Palo Park areas.
Is crime going up in Boulder?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Boulder as a whole is up 21% and property crime is down 12%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.6 to 3.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 31 to 27 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
BoulderUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve Boulder. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Boulder
Violent, US
Property, Boulder
Property, US
2016
-8%
+4%
-5%
+15%
2017
+1%
+4%
-10%
+12%
2018
+2%
+0%
+10%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+22%
+4%
+21%
-8%
2021
+54%
+6%
+17%
-10%
2022
+62%
+5%
+12%
-6%
2023
+33%
+2%
-1%
-7%
2024
+21%
-4%
-12%
-15%
Crime rates and types in North Boulder
CrimeGrade™ estimates North Boulder has about 24 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 36% less than the US as a whole and 44% less than Boulder as a whole.
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 North Boulder, about 41% 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 Boulder
The Boulder Police Department polices North Boulder; these figures cover Boulder as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Boulder as a whole, 50% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 40% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (50%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (30%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (30%)
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 North Boulder compares with nearby neighborhoods
North Boulder has less crime than 9 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods; only South Boulder has less.
Night lighting, empty homes and walkability in North Boulder
One thing sets North Boulder apart: it has 2.0% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, yet burglary 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.83% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 98% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 94% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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. 87% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (18 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 77% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.17% where people liveUS: 21%Higher than for 74% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 North Boulder
Crime costs North Boulder about $488 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 59% 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 $6.4 million a year, or $476 per resident.
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 North Boulder 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
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 North Boulder, Boulder, CO average a SchoolGrade of A: 55% of students test proficient, against 48% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in North Boulder on SchoolGrade
