Aurora’s neighborhoods conjure up too many stereotypes to count. You’ve got hipster areas, preppy places, neighborhoods where college kids thrive, and of course, ghettos.
It seems as if there’s a neighborhood for everyone in Aurora.
And while the city consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in Colorado thanks in part to tons of entertainment and jobs, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine in Aurora. Some neighborhoods aren’t as safe as others.
So the question arises, which Aurora neighborhoods are the most dangerous and which are the safest?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Aurora hoods need a little tender loving care. We examined 49 of Aurora’s neighborhoods to find out the most dangerous places to live.
$53,305 median income
$56,806 median income
$38,862 median income
$55,577 median income
$54,130 median income
$59,937 median income
$41,648 median income
$55,749 median income
$69,176 median income
$56,020 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Colorado’s statewide median.
Colorado statewide median: $541,842
Colorado statewide median: $95,470
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous Aurora neighborhoods in 2026
To figure out how bad a place is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what places have the least amount of those things. We plugged the following criteria into Saturday Night Science to get the worst neighborhoods in Aurora:
- High crime (Estimated)
- High unemployment (Less jobs)
- Low median income (Less pay)
- Low population density (No things to do)
- Low home values (No one’s willing to pay to live here)
Then, we ranked each neighborhood in Aurora, Colorado for each of these criteria from worst to best.
Next, we averaged the individual rankings for each criterion into a “Worst Score.”
The neighborhood with the lowest “Worst Score” ranks as the most dangerous neighborhood of Aurora.
The article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2026. Skip to the end to see the list of all 49 neighborhoods ranked from worst to best.
The full plate
Most dangerous neighborhoods to live in Aurora for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Centretech | 4,906 | $212,150 | $53,305 |
| 2 | Utah Park | 5,874 | $257,833 | $56,806 |
| 3 | Jewell Heights-Hoffman Heights | 8,436 | $132,700 | $38,862 |
| 4 | Sable Altura Chambers | 7,510 | $193,975 | $55,577 |
| 5 | Delmar Parkway | 15,778 | $258,191 | $54,130 |
| 6 | Sableridge | 5,181 | $211,167 | $59,937 |
| 7 | Sunny Vale | 2,928 | $266,900 | $41,648 |
| 8 | Chambers Heights | 5,382 | $213,500 | $55,749 |
| 9 | East Ridge-Ptarmigan Park | 6,176 | $203,750 | $69,176 |
| 10 | Highline Villages | 6,763 | $235,550 | $56,020 |
| 11 | Heather Ridge | 3,457 | $221,700 | $56,257 |
| 12 | City Center North | 5,884 | $266,967 | $53,018 |
| 13 | Southeast Crossing | 1,226 | $275,800 | $60,870 |
| 14 | Center Pointe | 7,048 | $147,400 | $67,560 |
| 15 | City Center | 6,810 | $163,300 | $70,469 |
| 16 | Expo Park | 8,368 | $291,300 | $48,425 |
| 17 | Meadow Hills | 5,979 | $260,275 | $90,789 |
| 18 | Morris Heights | 4,155 | $253,500 | $78,376 |
| 19 | Highland Park | 3,624 | $307,975 | $71,835 |
| 20 | Aurora Knolls-Hutchinson Heights | 7,255 | $214,040 | $68,769 |
| 21 | Tower Triangle | 5,038 | $261,000 | $67,916 |
| 22 | Aurora Hills Golf Course | 1,380 | $352,500 | $62,768 |
| 23 | Lynn Knoll | 3,092 | $337,300 | $76,484 |
| 23 | Dam East-West | 2,618 | $293,400 | $83,208 |
| 25 | Prides Crossing | 2,399 | $340,733 | $98,821 |
| 26 | Laredo Highline | 6,721 | $295,650 | $60,039 |
| 26 | Heather Gardens | 5,738 | $259,900 | $53,026 |
| 28 | Side Creek | 6,505 | $260,500 | $79,217 |
| 29 | North Aurora | 17,934 | $319,554 | $55,889 |
| 30 | Horseshoe Park | 6,295 | $289,875 | $66,113 |
| 31 | Carriage Place | 8,167 | $269,433 | $73,666 |
| 32 | Dayton Triangle | 6,307 | $269,200 | $67,320 |
| 32 | Aurora Hills | 8,552 | $277,600 | $70,514 |
| 34 | Willow Park | 3,198 | $289,050 | $73,089 |
| 35 | Conservatory | 3,117 | $360,750 | $89,658 |
| 36 | Aurora Highlands | 12,605 | $274,286 | $79,973 |
| 37 | Meadow Wood | 7,127 | $295,400 | $76,491 |
| 38 | Murphy Creek | 599 | $404,050 | $121,536 |
| 39 | Pheasant Run | 5,870 | $330,280 | $92,075 |
| 40 | Tollgate Overlook | 4,565 | $257,433 | $61,631 |
| 41 | Rocky Ridge | 6,570 | $261,600 | $64,627 |
| 42 | Village East | 10,111 | $383,425 | $87,783 |
| 43 | Saddle Rock Golf Club | 6,866 | $434,100 | $105,398 |
| 44 | Lakeshore | 3,084 | $315,850 | $93,928 |
| 45 | Mission Viejo | 7,178 | $306,550 | $87,274 |
| 46 | Park Villas | 610 | $418,350 | $93,979 |
| 47 | Heritage Eagle Bend | 1,867 | $562,900 | $80,339 |
| 48 | Tallyn’s Reach | 6,516 | $562,900 | $142,406 |
| 49 | Seven Hills | 6,807 | $335,950 | $85,995 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 49 Aurora neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The worst neighborhoods around Aurora
Well, there you have it — the worst of the neighborhoods in Aurora with Centretech landing at the bottom of the pack.
The worst neighborhoods in Aurora are Centretech, Utah Park, Jewell Heights-Hoffman Heights, Sable Altura Chambers, Delmar Parkway, Sableridge, Sunny Vale, Chambers Heights, East Ridge-Ptarmigan Park, and Highline Villages.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Aurora aren’t all bad. Seven Hills takes the cake as the best place to live in Aurora.
We ranked the neighborhoods from worst to best in the chart below. Not sold on Colorado? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Neighborhoods In Aurora FAQs
What is the most dangerous neighborhood in Aurora?
Centretech ranks as the worst neighborhood in Aurora for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Utah Park and Jewell Heights-Hoffman Heights are next on the list.
What are the worst neighborhoods in Aurora?
The worst-ranked neighborhoods in Aurora are Centretech, Utah Park, Jewell Heights-Hoffman Heights, Sable Altura Chambers, Delmar Parkway, Sableridge, Sunny Vale, Chambers Heights, East Ridge-Ptarmigan Park, and Highline Villages. We scored all 49 neighborhoods in the city.
Why does Centretech rank as the worst?
Centretech posts the roughest combined numbers in Aurora: a median household income of $53,305 and a median home value of $212,150, with crime, unemployment, and density folded into the score.
Are these neighborhoods dangerous everywhere?
No. The scores are neighborhood-wide averages, and conditions change block by block and hour by hour. Plenty of people live in these neighborhoods without incident; the numbers just say the odds run tougher.
How do you rank the worst neighborhoods?
Each neighborhood is scored on crime, unemployment, income, density, and home values, using Census tract and FBI data. The worst combined score tops the list.
