What is the most common way burglars enter homes?

The Front Door Is the Most Common Entry Point

According to FBI crime statistics, roughly 34% of burglars enter through the front door — more than first-floor windows, back doors, and garage entries combined.

They're not usually picking your lock. They're kicking the door. A standard residential door with a Grade 2 deadbolt and a builder-grade strike plate will typically fail a single solid kick. The lock holds — the door frame doesn't.

Most Fort Collins homes built between the 1970s and 1990s — which covers a large share of Old Town and Midtown — came with Grade 2 hardware. That's a minimum code threshold, not a security standard.

Other Entry Points Burglars Use — In Order

After the front door, break-ins generally occur at:

• First-floor windows — especially unlocked or single-pane windows with no secondary latch
• Back door — less visible from the street, often with weaker hardware than the front
• Garage door — attached garages with an interior door that isn't deadbolted are a major vulnerability
• Sliding glass doors — the latch mechanism on most sliding doors is easy to defeat; a cut-down wooden dowel in the track costs $2 and stops most attempts

Unlocked entries are more common than most people expect. A burglar who tries six door handles and finds one open doesn't need any skill at all.

What Burglars Actually Look For Before They Try

Speed and visibility are the deciding factors. The Department of Homeland Security notes that most residential burglars spend less than 60 seconds attempting entry before giving up. Anything that slows them down works in your favor.

Common targets: no deadbolt (just a knob lock), a visible pry gap between door and frame, no exterior lighting, and dense landscaping that blocks the neighbors' sightlines.

Fort Collins-Specific Risks Worth Knowing

Property crime in the CSU and University neighborhood runs above the Fort Collins city average. High renter turnover means old keys are circulating — previous tenants, ex-roommates, contractors. Rekeying runs $75–$120 per lock and cuts that risk entirely. If you moved in and haven't rekeyed, you don't know who has a copy of your key.

Colorado's temperature swings — from -15°F in winter to 95°F in summer — cause door frames to expand and contract. In winter, this can produce what's known as a cold-bind: the deadbolt bolt can't fully seat into the strike plate because the frame has shifted. Some homeowners leave the deadbolt disengaged all winter to avoid the hassle. That's a straightforward burglary risk. A local locksmith can adjust the strike plate position and solve it properly.

Harmony Corridor homes tend to have newer construction with smart-lock-ready doors, making upgrades to the Schlage Encode or Yale Assure relatively straightforward. Older Old Town homes need more evaluation — door frames shift seasonally, and not every smart lock fits without modification.

The Cheapest Fixes That Actually Work

You don't need a sophisticated security system to deter most burglars. You need to be harder to get into than the next house.

If you're unsure about your current hardware, a security assessment through a local locksmith service can identify weak points without any obligation to buy anything. You can also learn how often you should change your house locks to stay ahead of the risk — or browse all FAQ answers for more home security questions.