Iowa City is the sixth-largest city in Iowa, with 82,700 residents in Johnson County · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Iowa City?
Iowa City earns an A for property crime, safer than the neighborhoods where 56% of Americans live. Theft makes up 66% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A, and vehicle theft grades A.
A
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 853 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
56% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Iowa City as a whole, and 44% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Iowa City scores 853.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Iowa City, IA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Iowa City, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Iowa City
One part of Iowa City stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Longfellow, in central Iowa City, run at about triple the rate in the rest of the city.
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Iowa City, 57% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Iowa City
Every part of Iowa City where people live grades A or B for property crime on the national scale. Property crime grades across Iowa City run from A+ to B-.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Wood, southeastThefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Iowa City.A894
2Lucas & Hoover, eastThefts run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Iowa City.A854
3Mann, northCar thefts run about 50% higher here than in the rest of Iowa City.A-839
4Weber & Roosevelt, westThefts run about 50% higher here than in the rest of Iowa City.A-802
5Longfellow, centralThefts run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Iowa City.B+748
6Twain, southThefts run at about triple the rate in the rest of Iowa City.B+701
Neighborhood areas of Iowa City, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is property crime going up in Iowa City?
Reported property crime in Iowa City has held about steady since 2019, within 1%. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts stayed at about 17 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 13%.
Property crime, change since 2019
Iowa CityUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Iowa City. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Iowa City
Property, US
2016
+25%
+15%
2017
+43%
+12%
2018
+18%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+8%
-8%
2021
+0%
-10%
2022
+13%
-6%
2023
+14%
-7%
2024
-1%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Iowa City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Iowa City has about 19 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 18% less than the US as a whole and close to Iowa.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Iowa City, about 66% of the total, followed by vandalism and burglary.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when property crime happens in Iowa City
Iowa City has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Iowa City, 66% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often in parking lots and garages: 43% of them, against 23% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (66%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (43%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (57%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Iowa City and nearby cities
Of the 7 cities closest to Iowa City, 6 have less property crime. West Branch and Solon have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Iowa City. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Iowa City is safer than 74% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Iowa City apart: it has 16 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 71 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with both tend to report more theft than places with only one of them; here theft sits near the national middle.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Iowa City: D+ (20 of 100).16 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 89% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.71 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 87% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 68% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (27 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 77% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.8.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 73% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.33% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 71% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 63% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Iowa City
Property crime costs Iowa City about $10 million a year, or $126 per resident and about $317 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$1.2 million
$14
Theft
$5.5 million
$66
Vehicle theft
$1.5 million
$18
Arson
$82,000
$1
Vandalism
$2.2 million
$27
Total
$10 million
$126
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
