Thornton · 2021 public safety benchmarks

Name: Thornton, CO public safety benchmarks
Creator: Orivian
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Weld, Adams counties · Northern Front Range · Pop. 147,766 (2025 estimate); 2021 per-resident figures use 142,827 · Public safety data 2016–2025

City website (opens in a new tab)

Year

2021 in brief

Thornton spent $351 per resident on police in FY2021, 6% above the median of the 174 Colorado municipalities reporting. It had 1.6 sworn officers per 1,000 residents in 2021, 16% above its peers. Reported violent crime was 3.3 per 1,000 residents, 30% above the Colorado median, and property crime was 68% above the median. Police cleared 33.7% of reported violent crimes, 33% below peers.

Generated from the figures below. Every number links to its source.

Notes: spending is fiscal-year Census data; staffing and crime are calendar-year FBI data via CBI. Dollars are nominal. Definitions: orivian.ai/benchmarks/methodology#public-safety

Compared with

The finance peers: nearest on population, household income and region

Reporting agency: Thornton Police Department (ORI CO0010400) · 12 of 12 months reported.

Spending & staffing

Spending: FY2021, the government's fiscal year (Census). Staffing: 2021, sworn officers on the payroll October 31 (FBI).

Police spending per resident (definition)FY2021

$351

20% above peers

Peer median: $292
CO median · 174 with a published figure Median of the 174 Colorado municipalities with FY2021 Census finance data. In Census of Governments years the Census covers every municipality; in other years it surveys a sample, mostly larger cities.: $332
Position: Higher than 55% of the 174 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: +7.3%/yr

Police spending per officer (definition)FY2021
Police spending for the fiscal year divided by sworn officers on the payroll as of October 31 of that year. Spending covers civilian staff, equipment and construction as well as officer pay, so this is not a salary figure.

$220.9K

in line with peers

Peer median: $212.3K
CO median · 137 with a published figure Median of the 137 Colorado municipalities with FY2021 Census finance data. In Census of Governments years the Census covers every municipality; in other years it surveys a sample, mostly larger cities.: $166K
Position: Higher than 83% of the 137 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: +3.1%/yr

Officers per 1,000 residents (definition)2021

1.6

16% above peers

per 1,000 residents

Peer median: 1.4
CO median · 155 with a published figure Median of the Colorado municipalities with a published officers per 1,000 residents for 2021.: 2.3
Position: Higher than 25% of the 155 reporting
5-year change: +0.3 per 1,000

Reported outcomes

Reported crime reflects what is reported to police and how it is recorded, not only how much crime occurs.

Violent crime rate (definition)2021

3.3

21% below peers

per 1,000 residents

Peer median: 4.1
CO median · 133 with a published figure Median of the Colorado municipalities with a published violent crime rate for 2021.: 2.5
Position: Higher than 61% of the 133 reporting
5-year change: −0.2 per 1,000

Property crime rate (definition)2021

35.0

in line with peers

per 1,000 residents

Peer median: 34.9
CO median · 133 with a published figure Median of the Colorado municipalities with a published property crime rate for 2021.: 20.9
Position: Higher than 76% of the 133 reporting
5-year change: +3.9 per 1,000

Violent crime clearance rate (definition)2021
A clearance rate counts offenses cleared during the year against offenses reported that year. On its own it doesn't measure how effective a department is: clearances can include earlier years' offenses, and agencies record clearances differently.

33.7%

33% below peers

Peer median: 50.3%
CO median · 72 with a published figure Median of the Colorado municipalities with a published violent crime clearance rate for 2021.: 52.5%
Position: Higher than 23% of the 72 reporting
5-year change: +0.4 pts

Property crime clearance rate (definition)2021
A clearance rate counts offenses cleared during the year against offenses reported that year. On its own it doesn't measure how effective a department is: clearances can include earlier years' offenses, and agencies record clearances differently.

16.2%

18% above peers

Peer median: 13.7%
CO median · 119 with a published figure Median of the Colorado municipalities with a published property crime clearance rate for 2021.: 14.0%
Position: Higher than 59% of the 119 reporting
5-year change: −8.0 pts

How this number was calculated

Police spending per resident · $351

Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

1Metric
$351 Police spending divided by population
= Police spending ÷ population
Full definition: Police spending per resident
2Inputs
Police spending $50.1M ÷ population 142,827 (2021 estimate)
3Census line items
- E62 Police protection, current operations
- F62 Police protection, construction
4Source file
- Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File
  Value for
  FY2021
  Survey file
  2022
  The 2022 Census survey covers fiscal years ending July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, so a fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 is FY2021.
  Retrieved October 12, 2026 · View source: Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File (opens in a new tab)
- Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places
  Value for
  FY2021
  Source year
  2025
  Retrieved October 7, 2026 · View source: Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places (opens in a new tab)

Thornton and its peers

The same five peers as the finance pages. Police spending is per resident for the fiscal year shown; staffing and crime are per 1,000 residents for 2021. How peers are chosen

Thornton compared with its peer municipalities: police spending per resident and per-1,000 staffing and crime rates
Municipality	Police spendingper resident · FY2021	Officers per 1,000 residentsper 1,000 · 2021	Violent crimeper 1,000 · 2021	Property crimeper 1,000 · 2021	Violent crime clearance2021
	Fiscal year · Census	Calendar year · FBI via CBI
Thornton	$351	1.6	3.3	35.0	33.7%
Fort Collins	$282	1.3	3.1	20.9	61.2%
Lakewood	$358	1.8	7.0	54.8	47.6%
Arvada	$292	1.3	2.9	34.9	50.3%
Westminster	$253	1.5	4.1	45.4	34.9%
Greeley	$292	1.4	5.5	28.2	57.1%
Peer median	$292	1.4	4.1	34.9	50.3%

Trends

Police spending by fiscal year; staffing and crime by calendar year. Lines break where a year is missing or withheld; nothing is interpolated.

This city
Peer median
Withheld (shown on the axis, no value)

Police spending per resident

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Census definition change: Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.

Peer group changed in FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023, the same year as the census definition change. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table

Police spending per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	$247	$241	$272 (179 reporting, sample year)
FY2017	$243	$241	$304 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018	$282	$282	$312 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2019	$286	$297	$330 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2020	$307	$324	$367 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021	$351	$292	$332 (174 reporting, sample year)
FY2022	$396	$327	$377 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023	$407	$349	$428 (91 reporting, sample year)

Officers per 1,000 residents

Calendar year

Peer group changed in 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table

Officers per 1,000 residents by calendar year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
2016	1.3	1.4	2.4 (145 reporting, sample year)
2017	1.5	1.5	2.2 (145 reporting, sample year)
2018	1.6	1.5	2.2 (152 reporting, sample year)
2019	1.6	1.6	2.2 (153 reporting, sample year)
2020	1.7	1.6	2.2 (153 reporting, sample year)
2021	1.6	1.4	2.3 (155 reporting, sample year)
2022	1.7	1.5	1.9 (155 reporting, sample year)
2023	1.7	1.3	2.3 (155 reporting, sample year)
2024	1.7	1.4	2.4 (155 reporting, sample year)
2025	1.6	1.4	2.5 (143 reporting, sample year)

Violent crime rate

Calendar year

Peer group changed in 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table

Violent crime rate by calendar year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
2016	3.4	2.4	1.9 (126 reporting, sample year)
2017	3.5	2.5	1.7 (129 reporting, sample year)
2018	3.0	3.0	2.1 (126 reporting, sample year)
2019	2.9	2.9	2.0 (130 reporting, sample year)
2020	3.2	3.2	2.0 (140 reporting, sample year)
2021	3.3	4.1	2.5 (133 reporting, sample year)
2022	2.9	4.5	2.4 (121 reporting, sample year)
2023	2.9	3.4	2.5 (122 reporting, sample year)
2024	2.8	3.1	2.1 (135 reporting, sample year)
2025	2.5	3.0	2.1 (139 reporting, sample year)

Property crime rate

Calendar year

Peer group changed in 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table

Property crime rate by calendar year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
2016	31.1	31.3	22.9 (126 reporting, sample year)
2017	32.4	27.9	21.6 (129 reporting, sample year)
2018	32.7	32.0	20.2 (126 reporting, sample year)
2019	29.5	30.8	18.3 (130 reporting, sample year)
2020	32.2	35.0	19.5 (140 reporting, sample year)
2021	35.0	34.9	20.9 (133 reporting, sample year)
2022	34.9	38.0	20.6 (121 reporting, sample year)
2023	29.7	32.8	19.6 (122 reporting, sample year)
2024	28.1	30.0	15.9 (135 reporting, sample year)
2025	22.7	28.7	13.6 (139 reporting, sample year)

About these numbers

The city's own published statistics may differ: CBI counts some offenses once per victim, while many cities count once per case.
Reported crime reflects what is reported to police and how it is recorded, not only how much crime occurs.
Police spending here is FY2021, the government’s fiscal year; crime, clearances and staffing are calendar year 2021.

Read the public safety methodology

Sources · Retrieved October 12, 2026 from orivian.ai/benchmarks/public-safety

Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File · 2022 survey file
U.S. Census Bureau
Retrieved October 12, 2026View source: Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File (opens in a new tab)
Crime Data Explorer police employees, 2021 · 2021
FBI Crime Data Explorer (NIBRS data submitted by Colorado agencies through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation)
Retrieved October 12, 2026View source: Crime Data Explorer police employees, 2021 (opens in a new tab)
Crime Data Explorer summarized offenses and clearances, 2021 · 2021
FBI Crime Data Explorer (NIBRS data submitted by Colorado agencies through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation)
Retrieved October 12, 2026View source: Crime Data Explorer summarized offenses and clearances, 2021 (opens in a new tab)
Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places · 2025
U.S. Census Bureau
Retrieved October 7, 2026View source: Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places (opens in a new tab)

Every figure on this page is read from the published index; nothing is recalculated for display. Read the methodology

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Thornton · 2021 public safety benchmarks

2021 in brief

Spending & staffing

Police spending per resident (definition)FY2021

Police share of spending (definition)FY2021

Police spending per officer (definition)FY2021Police spending for the fiscal year divided by sworn officers on the payroll as of October 31 of that year. Spending covers civilian staff, equipment and construction as well as officer pay, so this is not a salary figure.Close

Officers per 1,000 residents (definition)2021

Reported outcomes

Violent crime rate (definition)2021

Property crime rate (definition)2021

Violent crime clearance rate (definition)2021A clearance rate counts offenses cleared during the year against offenses reported that year. On its own it doesn't measure how effective a department is: clearances can include earlier years' offenses, and agencies record clearances differently.Close

Property crime clearance rate (definition)2021A clearance rate counts offenses cleared during the year against offenses reported that year. On its own it doesn't measure how effective a department is: clearances can include earlier years' offenses, and agencies record clearances differently.Close

How this number was calculated

Thornton and its peers

Trends

About these numbers

Sources · Retrieved October 12, 2026 from orivian.ai/benchmarks/public-safety

Work for Thornton?

Police spending per officer (definition)FY2021
Police spending for the fiscal year divided by sworn officers on the payroll as of October 31 of that year. Spending covers civilian staff, equipment and construction as well as officer pay, so this is not a salary figure.

Violent crime clearance rate (definition)2021
A clearance rate counts offenses cleared during the year against offenses reported that year. On its own it doesn't measure how effective a department is: clearances can include earlier years' offenses, and agencies record clearances differently.

Property crime clearance rate (definition)2021
A clearance rate counts offenses cleared during the year against offenses reported that year. On its own it doesn't measure how effective a department is: clearances can include earlier years' offenses, and agencies record clearances differently.