Arvada is the seventh-largest city in Colorado, with 123,900 residents in Jefferson County, about 9 miles northwest of downtown Denver · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Arvada?
Violent crime in Arvada sits near the national middle: an A, safer than the neighborhoods where 51% of Americans live. Assaults make up 91% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 863 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
51% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Arvada as a whole, and 49% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Arvada scores 863.
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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Arvada, CO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Arvada, 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 about violent crime in Arvada
Aggravated assaults run high in Northwestern Denver. In this part of southeast Arvada, they run at more than double the rate in the rest of Arvada.
Robberies happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In Arvada, 62% of reported robberies happen at stores and businesses, against 33% nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Arvada
Nearly every part of Arvada where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across Arvada run from A+ to C+.
99%
A or B 99%C 1%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Village of Five Parks & Lakecrest, northwestAggravated assaults run at less than half the rate in the rest of Arvada.A+939
2Wyndhams, westAggravated assaults run at about half the rate in the rest of Arvada.A+926
3Lakecrest Cluster, northAggravated assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Arvada.A917
4Ralston Valley & Appleridge Estates, southwestSimple assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Arvada.A908
6Highlands, northeastClose to the rest of Arvada on most crimes.A855
7Arvada Plaza, Allendale & Alta Vista, southAggravated assaults run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Arvada.A-832
8Lamar Heights, eastClose to the rest of Arvada on most crimes.A-832
9Northwestern Denver, southeastRobberies run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Arvada.B+736
Neighborhood areas of Arvada, ranked by violent crime 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.
Is violent crime going up in Arvada?
Reported violent crime in Arvada has risen 21% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.3 to 2.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 31%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
ArvadaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Arvada. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Arvada
Violent, US
2016
-19%
+4%
2017
-27%
+4%
2018
+0%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+1%
+4%
2021
+24%
+6%
2022
+14%
+5%
2023
-7%
+2%
2024
+21%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Arvada
CrimeGrade™ estimates Arvada has about 7.4 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 45% less than the US as a whole and 39% less than Colorado.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Arvada, about 91% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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 violent crime happens in Arvada
Arvada has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Arvada, 55% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (62%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (55%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Violent crime in Arvada and nearby cities
Arvada has less violent crime than 8 of its 9 nearest cities; only Fairmount has less.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Arvada apart: it has 26 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less robbery, yet robbery runs higher here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.26 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 78% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Arvada: D+ (19 of 100).2 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 57% 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 assault. 84% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 55% of US city residents
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.13% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 54% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Arvada 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 violent crime costs Arvada
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Arvada about $71 million a year, or $575 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $17 million, or $136 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 76% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.8 million
$15
Rape
$1.6 million
$13
Robbery
$1.7 million
$14
Assault
$12 million
$94
Total
$17 million
$136
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Arvada is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower 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.
