Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Colorado?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
So we wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data in order to identify the places with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita in Colorado.
The result is the Murder Capitals of the Centennial State for 2023:
What city has the highest murder rate in Colorado? The city with the highest murder rate in Colorado is La Junta with 58.6 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Colorado with highest number of murders? The city in Colorado with the highest number of murders is Denver with 100 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Colorado ranked. There were ‘only’ 29 cities in Colorado where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 46 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Centennial State check out:
- Best Places To Live In Colorado
- Cheapest Places To Live In Colorado
- Most Dangerous Cities In Colorado
Article Table Of Contents
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Colorado For 2023
/10
Population: 113,371
Rank Last Year: 2
Murders: 27 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 23.8 (3rd Most)
More on Pueblo: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 740,209
Rank Last Year: 1
Murders: 100 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 13.5 (8th Most)
More on Denver: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 393,897
Rank Last Year: 3
Murders: 42 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 10.7 (10th Most)
More on Aurora: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 6,831
Rank Last Year: 14
Murders: 4 (11th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 58.6 (Most)
More on La Junta: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 115,942
Rank Last Year: 7
Murders: 12 (5th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 10.4 (11th Most)
More on Westminster: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 488,747
Rank Last Year: 5
Murders: 38 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.8 (14th Most)
More on Colorado Springs: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 110,660
Rank Last Year: 6
Murders: 9 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 8.1 (13th Most)
More on Greeley: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
8. Canon City
Population: 16,552
Rank Last Year: 10
Murders: 3 (14th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 18.1 (6th Most)
More on Canon City:
/10
Population: 158,977
Rank Last Year: 9
Murders: 12 (5th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.5 (15th Most)
More on Lakewood: Data | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 60,845
Rank Last Year: 8
Murders: 5 (9th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 8.2 (12th Most)
More on Commerce City: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Colorado
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report which summarizes the number of murders that may happen in each city per year.
We only looked every single city in Colorado for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 29 cities to rank.
Finally, we averaged the two scores into an index:
- The raw number of murders in each city
- The murders per person
We felt as if a small place with 2,500 people and two murders makes it a lot more dangerous than a city of 25,000 people with three murders. Any ties went to the larger city.
This article is an opinion based on facts. It is our tenth time ranking the most places with the most murders per capita in Colorado and is updated for 2023.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Colorado For 2023
If you’re looking at the places in Colorado with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
For more Colorado reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Colorado
- Fastest Growing Cities In Colorado
- Safest Places In Colorado
- Best Cities For Singles In Colorado
- Worst Places To Live In Colorado
Detailed List Of The Places With The Most Murder In Colorado For 2023
| Rank | City | Murders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pueblo, CO | 27 |
| 2 | Denver, CO | 100 |
| 3 | Aurora, CO | 42 |
| 4 | La Junta, CO | 4 |
| 5 | Westminster, CO | 12 |
| 6 | Colorado Springs, CO | 38 |
| 7 | Greeley, CO | 9 |
| 8 | Canon City, CO | 3 |
| 9 | Lakewood, CO | 12 |
| 10 | Commerce City, CO | 5 |
| 11 | Lamar, CO | 2 |
| 12 | Alamosa, CO | 2 |
| 13 | Glenwood Springs, CO | 2 |
| 14 | Centennial, CO | 6 |
| 15 | Fort Morgan, CO | 2 |
| 16 | Thornton, CO | 5 |
| 17 | Grand Junction, CO | 3 |
| 18 | Trinidad, CO | 1 |
| 19 | Boulder, CO | 3 |
| 20 | Lafayette, CO | 2 |
| 21 | Englewood, CO | 2 |
| 22 | Arvada, CO | 3 |
| 23 | Northglenn, CO | 2 |
| 24 | Fort Collins, CO | 3 |
| 25 | Sterling, CO | 1 |
| 26 | Broomfield, CO | 2 |
| 27 | Loveland, CO | 2 |
| 28 | Longmont, CO | 2 |
| 29 | Evans, CO | 1 |
