Is Boulder, CO Safe?
Boulder, CO has a Safety Score of 67/100 (grade B). Violent crime is 27% above the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
Safety Context Score: 67/100 (Grade B)
CrimeContext scores Boulder on a 0-100 scale that weights per-capita violent crime against the national average (40%), per-capita property crime (30%), and the 5-year direction of total crime (30%). A grade of B means Boulder sits roughly in line with the typical U.S. city once population is taken into account. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
We never display raw crime counts. A large city will always log more total incidents than a small town; the only fair comparison is the rate per 100,000 residents, which is what every number on this page uses.
Boulder Crime Rates per 100,000 vs National Average
| Crime Type | Boulder | National Avg | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 463.1 | 363.8 | +27% |
| Property Crime | 1497.0 | 1832.3 | -18% |
| Murder | 9.3 | 5.7 | +63% |
| Robbery | 97.3 | 73.0 | +33% |
| Aggravated Assault | 259.3 | 246.4 | +5% |
| Burglary | 194.6 | 269.8 | -28% |
| Larceny-Theft | 988.0 | 1401.9 | -30% |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 209.6 | 318.3 | -34% |
| 5-Year Trend | -9.0% | ||
| Population | 105,673 | ||
All values are incidents per 100,000 residents (FBI UCR/NIBRS). Per-capita rates only — never raw counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Boulder, CO has a Safety Score of 67/100 (grade B). Violent crime is 27% above the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
Boulder, CO has a violent crime rate of 463.1 per 100,000 residents (27% above the U.S. average of 363.8) and a property crime rate of 1497.0 per 100,000 (18% below the U.S. average of 1832.3). All figures are per-capita rates, never raw counts.
Boulder has a murder rate of 9.3 per 100,000 residents, compared with the national average of 5.7. Like every figure here, this is a per-capita rate — raw homicide counts without population context can badly mislead.
Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years. Over the past 5 years, the total crime rate in Boulder has changed by -9.0%.
Violent crime in Boulder is 27% above the U.S. average and property crime is 18% below average. Boulder's overall Safety Context Score is 67/100 (grade B).
More about Boulder
Boulder, CO has a Safety Score of 67/100 (grade B). Violent crime is 27% above the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
This answer pulls from the FBI UCR/NIBRS dataset, the authoritative federal source for U.S. city and county crime rates. The headline number above is the direct answer; what follows is the additional context most readers need to use the answer for a real decision rather than just a fact lookup.
For readers turning this answer into action: cross-reference against the underlying the FBI UCR/NIBRS dataset record before acting on time-sensitive decisions. The site renders the data as it was published; subsequent revisions can shift the picture, and the live federal data is always the authoritative current reference.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2026.