Iowa is home to 3.21 million residents; Des Moines is both its capital and its largest city · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Iowa?
Iowa ranks 6th safest of the 50 states and Washington, DC for property crime, with a CrimeGrade™ of A+. Theft makes up 55% 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 934 of 1,0006th safest of the 50 states and DCi What this means
80% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Iowa as a whole, and 20% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Iowa scores 934.
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 at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Iowa, 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
Vehicle theft runs low. Iowa has 1.4 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 2.7.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Iowa
Low property crime is the norm across Iowa: 93% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 1% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Iowa run from A+ to F.
93%
A or B 93%C 6%D or F 1%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
All 99 counties, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Cities of 10,000 or more residents, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Is property crime going up in Iowa?
Reported property crime in Iowa has fallen 29% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 19 to 13 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
IowaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Iowa. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Iowa
Property, US
2016
+14%
+15%
2017
+16%
+12%
2018
-0%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-9%
-8%
2021
-19%
-10%
2022
-20%
-6%
2023
-22%
-7%
2024
-29%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Iowa
CrimeGrade™ estimates Iowa has about 18 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 25% less than the US as a whole.
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, about 55% 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
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Iowa, 2022 to 2024.
In Iowa, 62% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 40% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (62%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (40%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (35%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (45%)
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 and nearby states
Iowa has less property crime than 9 of its 10 nearest states; only South Dakota has less.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, one sets Iowa apart: it has 7% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less car theft, and it runs low here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.7% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 86% of Americans
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: D- (6 of 100).2 trips an hourUS: noneLower than for 84% of Americans
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.74% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 58% of Americans
Show all 4
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.7.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 55% of Americans
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Iowa on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more. Its Walk Grade for Iowa is D (17 of 100).
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
Property crime costs Iowa about $398 million a year, or $124 per resident and about $309 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
$60 million
$19
Theft
$162 million
$50
Vehicle theft
$68 million
$21
Arson
$6.7 million
$2
Vandalism
$101 million
$31
Total
$398 million
$124
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.
