Mayor Mike Johnston today released a report documenting the city’s successes in 2025 as well as its progress toward making Denver the safest, most affordable, and most vibrant city in the country. First announced by Mayor Johnston in early 2025, Denver set ambitious goals that included reducing gun violence, bringing thousands of individuals inside and into permanent housing, and adding and preserve affordable housing.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston
Highlights include:
· Decreased shootings by 37%, more than doubling the initial goal of 15%. Denver also reported 37 homicides in 2025, the third lowest figure since 1990 and one of the lowest rates in modern history when adjusted for population.
· 2,584 individuals brought homelessness inside, outpacing the 2,000-person goal.
· Housed 1,744 individuals. Though this falls below the initial goal, it also represents the city’s best ever effort at helping individuals secure housing.
· Fully reopened 16th Street to the public and revitalized downtown through key investments. Downtown foot traffic up to 99% of pre-pandemic levels as of Dec. 2025.
· Passed all five Vibrant Denver Bond measures, paving the way for significant and vital infrastructure improvements across the City and County of Denver.
· Addressed climate resilience by adding 2,000 clean energy systems, planting more than 5,000 trees, and cutting municipal water usage by 21 million gallons.
· While funding cuts at the federal and state level impacted the city’s ability to hit its goal of adding or preserving 3,000 affordable units including a partnership with the Denver Housing Authority to create affordable housing for middle-income families.
· Connected 6,348 kids to out-of-school programming and placed 4,366 young adults in jobs, far outpacing both initial goals.
In addition to the listed goals, Denver is celebrating incredible wins. We acquired the site of the former Park Hill Golf Course and opened it as Park Hill Park, secured the Denver Summit to the benefit of South Broadway businesses, helped bring the world-renowned Sundance Film Festival to Colorado, and launched a process with the Denver Broncos to keep them in Denver for another 50+ years at their new stadium site at Burnham Yard.
These achievements prove what’s possible when Denver comes together to tackle big challenges with bold solutions.