Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Arvada is a city of 122,901, and it grades B+ overall, ranked 64th of 158 in Colorado. Residents are healthier than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $117K. The trade-offs: its police reported 373 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 79% of U.S. towns, and the typical home is worth about $594K, 5.6 years of the Denver metro’s $106K median household income. 27% of the land in Arvada is conserved, against 6.8% in Colorado’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Only 18 of Colorado’s 218 towns score higher on the outdoors. Arvada has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Arvada Flour Mill and Arvada Downtown.
Where Arvada beats most towns.
106,433 counted in 2010 and 124,402 in 2020; an estimated 122,901 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Colorado), ordered by how far Arvada is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1859, comes before those of 89% of the Colorado towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 840 in 1910, 124,402 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1917 and 6 maps from 1941 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Arvada. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi TheatreRed Rocks Amphitheatre
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaEmpower Field at Mile High
10 mi Stadium & arenaBall Arena
10 mi Stadium & arenaCoors Field
9 mi Theme parkElitch Gardens Theme Park
6 mi Theme parkLakeside Amusement ParkRed Rocks Amphitheatre: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Empower Field at Mile High: Thelastcanadian, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ball Arena: KM Newnham, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Coors Field: Matt Kozlowski, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Elitch Gardens Theme Park: USGS, Public domain · Lakeside Amusement Park: Atjoe1972, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Arvada, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Arvada.
Arvada fares better on crime within Colorado than nationally, has home values still below their peak and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Colorado.
Within Colorado it is healthier than 70% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar.
23% of adults have obesity in Arvada, where Colorado’s towns sit at 26% and U.S. towns at 35%. 14% of Arvada adults get no exercise outside work. Arvada beats the Colorado average on 6 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Arvada | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 26% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 71% | 79% |
| What stands out | Arvada | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.4% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults who get no exercise | 13.6% | 17.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.7% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Jefferson County School District No. R-1. Three of its 33 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Creeks K-8Largest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,050 | A− |
| Arvada West High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,923 | B+ |
| West Woods Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 542 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
At 35.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 60% of Colorado’s graded towns.
The property crime rate in Arvada is 22.8 per 1,000 residents. Arvada reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 79% report less. The violent crime rate in Arvada is 3.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Arvada | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.8 per 1,000 residents | 15.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
51 miles of trail in 73 parks and preserves. Arvada’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile. Long Lake Regional Park, at 278 acres with 1.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Long Lake Regional Park | 1.6 mi | 278 |
| 2. Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge | 1.5 mi | 75 |
| 3. Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge | 0.7 mi | 21 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here grew from 24,346 in 2013 to 32,637.
Most working residents leave Arvada for work: only 10% work in town. 25% of workers work from home in Arvada. Jobs based in Arvada grew to 32,637 in 2023, 8,291 more than in 2013.
| Arvada | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $117,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.8% | 8.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Arvada has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 20° and about 55 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical value, about $594K, is 7% below its June 2022 peak.
The typical Arvada home is worth about $594,000, down 2% in a year, 12% above the Colorado typical home.
| Arvada | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,888 a month | $1,807 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 71% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 52% | 53% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 30 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Arvada.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Colorado average. 52% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 46% across Colorado.
| Arvada | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 52% | 44% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 15% | 18% |
| Median age | 40 years | 38.3 years | 40.5 years |
49.9% women, 50.1% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.7 points. Across Colorado, 49.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.6, men 38.6.
| Arvada | CO | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.2% | 10.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.9% | 15.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.9% | 14.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.3% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.9% | 11.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.4% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7% | 5.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.1% | 7.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.6% | 19.7% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.3% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.5% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 32.9% | 28.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.6% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
15 within 15 miles of the center of Arvada
About 5 of every 100 Arvada residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Colorado.
27.3% of the town is conserved land, across 73 parks and preserves.
6 places in Arvada on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Arvada.
City in Colorado, US
Arvada () is a home rule city located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 in Adams County. Arvada is the seventh most populous city in Colorado. The city is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. The Olde Town Arvada historic district is 7 miles (11 km) northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Arvada.
| Town | CO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arvada | #64 | B+ | C− | C− | A− | A |
| Fairmount | #16 | A | C− | — | A− | A+ |
| Wheat Ridge | #100 | B− | C | D | A− | A |
| Westminster | #76 | B | C | D | A− | A |
| Berkley | #144 | C− | C− | — | D | B |
Fairmount and Berkley report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Arvada with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Arvada grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #64 of 158 in Colorado. It grades A for health, C− for safety and A− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
12 notable people were born here, including Erika Sutton and Lindsay Brewer.
