Here’s How Colorado Ranks For Break-Ins

COLORADO – Experiencing a burglary is traumatic. While there’s a financial cost associated with replacing any stolen or broken items, that can often pale in comparison to the emotional toll it takes on the victim’s mental health. It can mean not feeling safe in your home. And a new report shows some states see more break-ins than others.

Colorado is right in the middle of the U.S. states for break ins. That’s according to an analysis by the financial news and opinion site 24/7 Wall St., which reviewed burglary numbers from the FBI’s 2017 Crime in the United States report. Colorado ranked 27th in the U.S. for the number of burglaries reported.

Here’s what the researchers found for Colorado:

• Overall rank: 27th
• Burglaries per 100,000 people: 407
• Total burglaries in 2017: 22,813 (23rd highest)
• Population:5,607,154 (21st highest)
• Median home value: $348,900 (4th highest)
• 2017 unemployment rate:2.8% (4th lowest)

Break-ins and property crimes dropped in Colorado, as they did across the country. But violent crime rose in Colorado last year, the FBI statistics showed.

Overall, states in the South and Southwest saw the highest break-in rates. New Mexico sees the most break-ins per capita at 858 per 100,000 residents. Here are the 10 states with the most burglaries:

1. New Mexico
2. Mississippi
3. Louisiana
4. Oklahoma
5. Arkansas
6. Nevada
7. Alabama
8. North Carolina
9. South Carolina
10. Washington

Those looking for peace of mind ought to consider moving to the Northeast or Midwest, which see the fewest break-ins per capita. The Northeast had by far the most states in the bottom 10 for burglaries. That includes — perhaps surprisingly — New York, which saw the fewest burglaries at 176 per 100,000 people. New Hampshire, Virginia, Connecticut and Massachusetts rounded out the bottom five.

In all, there were 1.4 million burglaries in 2017, according to FBI data. That accounted for $3.4 billion in property losses. The authors noted that most burglaries happen during the warmer months, and that warmer temperatures in the South and West could account for the higher rates.

Related: As Crime Fell In U.S., Violent Crime Increased In Colorado

Related: Holiday Thefts: How Does Colorado Compare To Other States?

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

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