Planning a summer escape to Denver? A new analysis suggests you might want to keep a close eye on your car. The study puts Denver squarely among the country’s most risky vacation cities for property crime, driven largely by car break-ins and stolen vehicles. Out of 25 popular U.S. destinations, Denver landed in fourth place, with a composite summer property-crime rate of about 401 incidents per 100,000 residents. For locals, it reads less like a shock and more like a confirmation that parked cars are frequent targets around town.
How the summer index was built
Vivint pulled FBI NIBRS data for June through August 2024 and calculated a composite score that combines burglary, larceny and motor-vehicle theft to rank 25 popular summer destinations. In that index, Park City lands at the safest end of the list with a rate of 136 incidents per 100,000 residents, while Honolulu tops the risk chart at 442. Denver’s 401 puts it behind only Honolulu, Seattle and Philadelphia. Vivint also compared changes since 2022 and flagged large jumps in places such as Miami.
Where Denver sits in national coverage
The Vivint index did not stay confined to the fine print. National outlet VICE reproduced the rankings, and local station 98.5 KYGO amplified the warning for summer visitors. Both note that the index measures crimes per resident, a choice that can make a tourist-heavy city look worse on paper because visitors swell the metro area during peak months.
Local context: enforcement and trends
City and state law-enforcement efforts have been trying to blunt the auto-theft surge that peaked in 2022. Axios Denver reported a steep drop in reported car thefts through 2025 after the Denver Auto Theft Team, tracking programs and targeted prosecutions were put in place, and CPR News has chronicled high-profile convictions tied to organized theft rings. Those enforcement moves appear to have reduced stolen-vehicle counts even as opportunistic break-ins persist in some neighborhoods.
What visitors should do
The practical advice from Vivint is simple: lock your car, keep valuables out of sight and secure vacation rentals while you are away. The company also recommends using smart cameras or asking neighbors to check on a home, steps that lower the odds of becoming a target. Those precautions make sense whether you live in Denver or are just passing through.
Why the numbers matter for Denver
Tourism is a major economic engine for the metro area. Visit Denver’s media kit reports roughly 37.1 million visitors in the 2024 travel year and more than $10 billion in visitor spending, while city population estimates sit near 713,700 residents. That gap helps explain why per-resident crime rates can spike in summer. For travelers weighing a trip, the Vivint index is more of a reminder to plan with a little caution than a reason to cancel. Denver’s outdoor access, museums and food scene remain strong draws.
Bottom line, the Vivint index shines a light on a specific, solvable slice of Denver’s crime picture: property theft tied to cars and crowded summer tourism. Take common-sense precautions, and you will still get the hikes, cold beer, and skyline sunsets that make Denver worth the trip.
