Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Commerce City grades C− overall, ranked 139th of 158 in Colorado, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $112K and it has 26 miles of trail. On the other side, its crime rate is higher than 93% of U.S. towns, with 536 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Commerce City’s violent crime rate is 7.4 per 1,000 residents, against 2.3 in Colorado’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns. On civic life, just 2 of Colorado’s 146 towns do worse. Commerce City is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns.
Where Commerce City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
45,913 counted in 2010 and 62,418 in 2020; an estimated 72,345 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 15.9% since 2020, after 35.9% in the decade before.
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 Commerce City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,970 in 1960, 62,418 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1937 and 6 maps from 1938 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Commerce City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaEmpower Field at Mile High
Big draw27 mi TheatreRed Rocks Amphitheatre
in town Stadium & arenaDick's Sporting Goods Park
15 mi Stadium & arenaBall Arena
14 mi Stadium & arenaCoors Field
15 mi Theme parkElitch Gardens Theme ParkEmpower Field at Mile High: Thelastcanadian, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Red Rocks Amphitheatre: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dick's Sporting Goods Park: Tom Pratt, CC BY 2.0 · 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Commerce City, 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 Commerce City.
Commerce City fares better on crime within Colorado than nationally, trades workers with Denver and other neighbors and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Colorado.
At 58 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 81% of Colorado’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 2,467 to 2,314 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Commerce City’s property crime rate is 24.6 per 1,000 residents. Commerce City reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 93% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the School District 27J. Three of its 25 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otho E Stuart Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 794 | C+ |
| Adams City High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,500 | C− |
| Landmark Academy at ReunionTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 758 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CO on state tests and graduation
Commerce City has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. The July high in Commerce City is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Commerce City has about as many jobs (35,268) as working residents, but only 3,295 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 26,059 in 2013 to 35,268.
Most working residents leave Commerce City for work: only 10% work in town. Since 2013, Commerce City has added 9,209 jobs, to 35,268 in 2023. The top destinations are Denver (28%), Aurora (11%) and Thornton (4%).
| Commerce City | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $112,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 18% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 7.5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
26 miles of trail in 30 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Second Creek Open Space, 295 acres with 4.2 miles of trail.
| Commerce City | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.9% | 7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Second Creek Open Space | 4.2 mi | 295 |
| 2. Prairie Gateway Open Space | 2.6 mi | 190 |
| 3. Reunion Park | 1.6 mi | 53 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Within Colorado it is less healthy than 81% of the 159 graded towns: Colorado sets a high bar. Against the 6,862 U.S. towns with household incomes like Commerce City’s, it is less healthy than 72%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Commerce City beats the Colorado average on 3 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 20% of Commerce City adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Among 159 Colorado towns, just 9 have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Commerce City.
| Commerce City | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 71% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 27% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 19% |
| What stands out | Commerce City | CO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.1% | 7.8% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 18.4% | 22.9% |
| More uninsured adults | 19.9% | 11.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical value, about $477K, is 12% below its July 2022 peak. The median property tax bill is $4,384, against $2,602 across Colorado, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Commerce City home is worth about $477,000, down 3.1% in a year, 10% below the Colorado typical home.
| Commerce City | Colorado towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,880 a month | $1,807 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 71% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
9 within 15 miles of the center of Commerce City
About 4 of every 100 Commerce City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Colorado.
City in Colorado, US
Commerce City is a home rule city located in Adams County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 62,418 at the 2020 United States census, a 35.95% increase since the 2010 United States census. Commerce City is the 18th most populous municipality in Colorado. Commerce City is located north of Denver and is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. Commerce City is known for being the home of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge with its only entrance located in the city. Dick's Sporting Goods Park, a premier soccer stadium facility in Commerce City, hosts the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Commerce City.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Brighton (C) is closest. Derby next door grades lower for schools (D− to Commerce City’s C+) and higher for cost of living (B to D).
| Town | CO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce City | #139 | C− | D | D | C+ | B |
| Derby | #117 | C+ | B | — | D− | C+ |
| Brighton | #121 | C | C− | D | B− | B+ |
| Denver | #119 | C+ | C− | D− | B− | A |
| Thornton | #102 | B− | C− | C− | B+ | A− |
| North Washington | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Derby reports no FBI crime data of its own. North Washington isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Commerce City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Commerce City grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #139 of 158 in Colorado. It grades B for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 4.5 years of the area's median household income ($105,762 across the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
