Big cities aren't well represented in a new survey of the safest places in Colorado. Of the twenty communities considered the state's safest, only three are in the Denver-Boulder metro area. Moreover, all of the latter are suburbs or outlying localities, and two fall toward the bottom of the roster.

The results of the SafeWise Report for 2017 are even more striking given one aspect of its methodology: Colorado cities with fewer than 3,000 residents weren't considered for inclusion. Also omitted were communities that didn't submit data to the FBI, whose 2015 crime-report statistics served as the primary ranking metric, along with population statistics.

The study's authors evaluated the remaining cities by calculating the likelihood of violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny/theft and motor vehicle theft) among 1,000 residents of each place.

As you'll see, the spots that scored best tend to be modest in size and rural in character. Generally speaking, the larger the city, the larger the risk.

Count down the twenty safest cities in Colorado below.

1. Yuma
Previous rank: 3

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.28
Property Crimes per 1,000: 0.83

2. Dacono
Previous rank: 1

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.22
Property Crimes per 1,000: 1.08

3. Eaton
Previous rank: 2

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.62
Property Crimes per 1,000: 0.41

4. Rocky Ford
Previous rank: 4

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.30
Property Crimes per 1,000: 1.82

5. Severance
Previous rank: 6

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.83
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.60

6. Johnstown
Previous rank: 11

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.21
Property Crimes per 1,000: 4.76

7. Louisville
Previous rank: N/A

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.78
Property Crimes per 1,000: 5.59

8. Frederick
Previous rank: 7

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.09
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.31

9. Firestone
Previous rank: 13

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.34
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.90

10. Erie
Previous rank: 10

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.90
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.78