Property Crime per Capita in Palo Alto County
Property crime covers theft, burglary, vehicle theft, and arson, offenses against belongings rather than people. The map below shows the property crime rate per 1,000 Palo Alto County residents.
Safest
Highest crime
Colorblind friendly
off
B+
B |
|
Property Crime Grade |
A |
Other Crime Grade |
C+ |
$584,325
Cost of Crime™ for Palo Alto County, IA
In 2025, property crime will cost $147 per household.
On the map, green marks the parts of Palo Alto County with the least property crime and red marks the most, weighted by the type and severity of each offense. Property crime is the most common category of crime, so these maps track closely with where stores, parking, and daytime foot traffic sit. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains why busy commercial blocks can look worse than the neighborhoods around them.
The A grade reflects how often theft, burglary, vehicle theft, and arson happen in Palo Alto County against the average US county, where the rate is much lower than the norm. Palo Alto County sits in the 87th percentile for property-crime safety, ahead of 87% of counties and behind 13%. The grade covers only Palo Alto County's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby counties.
The property crime rate in Palo Alto County is 9.709 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally point to the south part of the county as the safest for their belongings. Your odds of a property-crime loss range from 1 in 71 in the northwest areas to 1 in 163 in the south.
Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the central parts of Palo Alto County, IA report the most property crime, about 31 cases per year. The west part reports the fewest, around 2 per year.
The Cost of Crime™ in Palo Alto County, IA
Property crime in Palo Alto County is projected to cost $584,325 in 2025, about $63 per resident and $147 per household. That equals 0.2% of the median household income. All of it is measurable loss: replaced vehicles, repaired break-ins, stolen goods, and the policing and courts that respond. Because property crime leaves a repair bill rather than a lasting injury, these tangible costs make up its full economic toll. They split into:- Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 71.6%
- Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 22.0%
- Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 6.4%
How Much Does Property Crime Cost in Palo Alto County Compared to Other Counties?
| Palo Alto County, IA: | $63 |
|---|---|
| Black Hawk County, IA: | $132 |
| Dallas County, IA: | $52 |
| Iowa: | $96 |
| USA: | $136 |
Property crime costs $63 per resident each year in Palo Alto County, which is $73 less than the national average and $33 less than Iowa's state average. The comparison below uses counties similar to Palo Alto County:
- In Black Hawk County, IA, crime costs $132 per person, which is $68 more than in Palo Alto County.
- In Dallas County, IA, crime costs $52 per person, which is $11 less than in Palo Alto County
2025 Projected Property Crime Cost by Type
The table below breaks the property-crime total into its four offenses for Palo Alto County, with the projected cost per resident.Crime |
Cost to Palo Alto County |
Cost per Palo Alto County Resident |
|---|---|---|
Vehicle Theft |
$54,975 |
$6 |
Burglary |
$158,583 |
$17 |
Theft |
$350,991 |
$38 |
Arson |
$19,776 |
$2 |
Total Cost of Property Crime |
$584,325 |
$63 |
How the Property Crime Cost Is Estimated
Property crime carries no pain-and-suffering figure in this model. Its cost is the replacement and repair value of what was taken or damaged, plus the policing, courts, and lost offender productivity that follow. Stolen and damaged property has a market price, which is why this total is easier to pin down than the human cost of violent crime in Palo Alto County, IA. All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.Interpreting the Property Crime Maps
Property crime rates are measured per resident, so places where shoppers and commuters outnumber residents read high. Stores are where shoplifting, theft, and vehicle break-ins happen, yet almost nobody lives there, so the per-capita rate climbs. How strongly this shows on the map depends on retail density; the central part of the county has more retail establishments. A red commercial strip does not mean the homes nearby are unsafe.
Parking lots and transit stops follow the same pattern: heavy daytime traffic, few residents, so per-capita property crime reads high. To judge a residential block, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.
The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Palo Alto County, IA at ISP Reports.Palo Alto County Property Crime Breakdown
The table below shows which non-violent crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grade above. All property crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Palo Alto County residents in a standard year.
Crime Type |
Crime Rate |
|---|---|
Theft |
7.342 |
Vehicle Theft |
0.3846 |
Burglary |
1.894 |
Arson |
0.0887 |
Total Property Crime |
9.709 (A) |
Individual Palo Alto County Crime Maps & Stats
Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Counties
Compared to surrounding counties, the rate of property crime in Palo Alto County is lower. The table below shows Crime Grades for counties close to Palo Alto County.
Nearby County | Overall Crime Grade | Violent Crime Grade | Property Crime Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
C+ | C+ | B- | |
B+ | A | B+ | |
B+ | A- | A- | |
B | C | A- | |
A | A | A | |
B | B+ | B+ | |
C+ | C+ | C+ | |
B- | B+ | C+ | |
A- | B+ | A- | |
B+ | B | A- |
Crime Maps and Rates for County with Similar Populations
Palo Alto County is lower versus other counties of the same size for property crime. The table below compares crime in counties with comparable overall population in the county‘s boundaries.
Similar County | Overall Crime Grade | Violent Crime Grade | Property Crime Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
D | D- | D- | |
A- | B | B | |
D- | D | D | |
D+ | C | C | |
D | D | D | |
D+ | D- | D- | |
F | F | F | |
D | D+ | D+ | |
B+ | C | C | |
D+ | D- | D- |
Considering only the property crime rate, Palo Alto County is safer than the Iowa state average and safer than the national average.
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