One Colorado City Rates as America’s Worst For Playgrounds

Kids have tons of energy to burn, and playgrounds are a great way to get that done. One city in Colorado ranks the highest, among the worst in the country.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends that kids between the ages of 6 through 17 get 60-minutes of "moderate to rigorous" activity every day. That can be hard to achieve these days, with more and more technology available to occupy their time.

Playgrounds have come a long way over the years; if you were to visit a playground from back in the '70s you'd find many "fun" things were also pretty dangerous.

• Merry-Go-Round.
• Metal Monkey Bars.
• Steel See-Saws.
• Steep Slides.
• etc.

RELATED: Colorado Park One of the Coolest in the Country

Today's playgrounds do have fun things like slides and climbing walls, but are also about learning.  Some playgrounds even have their own themes, like castles and farms. That sounds fun; too bad we didn't have those in the '70s.

Colorado City Ranks as Being the Worst for Playgrounds

The lawn care company, Lawn Starter, took a look a variety of points of date to determine the best cities for playgrounds in 2024; New York City came in at #1.

Factors Involved in the Ratings

• The Number of Playgrounds.
• The Average Visitor Ratings.
• The Local Crime Rate.

Pueblo, Colorado, came in at #1 in their Top 10 "Worst Cities for Children's Playgrounds" (431 out of 431 cities.)

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Number of Playgrounds

Pueblo claims to have 47 playgrounds (not counting schools and churches;) that does seem a bit low as compared to the city's 111,000 people.

Average Visitor Ratings

It's unclear as to how Lawn Starter got their stats for this category; one would presume from Google Reviews.

Pueblo Crime Rate

Pueblo has long been known to have a problem with crime; NeighborHoodScout.com found that a person's chance of being a victim of a violent or property crime is 1 in 12.

How Other Colorado Cities Ranked on the List:

• Denver - 107/431 (Colorado's Best City for Playgrounds)
• Boulder - 118/431
• Castle Rock - 173/431
• Centennial - 226/431
• Loveland - 242/431
• Aurora - 283/431
• Fort Collins - 292/431
• Arvada  - 304/431
• Thornton - 312/431
• Colorado Springs - 317/431
• Longmont - 318/431
• Westminster - 379/431
• Lakewood - 405/431

The Good News for Pueblo

Though crime is an issue for one of Colorado's largest cities, Pueblo saw a 13% drop in violent crime for 2023.