Story County is home to 100,500 residents and includes Ames and Nevada · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Story County?
Property crime is low in Story County: an A, safer than the neighborhoods where 73% of Americans live. Theft makes up 62% 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 916 of 1,000Less property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
73% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Story County as a whole, and 27% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Story County scores 916.
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 Story County, IA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Story County, 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 Story County
Car thefts are uncommon. Story County has car thefts at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.78 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Story County, 61% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Story County
Every part of Story County where people live grades A or B for property crime on the national scale. Property crime grades across Story County run from A+ to B.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Story County with at least 1,000 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 Story County?
Reported property crime in Story County has fallen 20% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 16 to 13 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
Story CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Story County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Story County
Property, US
2016
+5%
+15%
2017
+21%
+12%
2018
-3%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-2%
-8%
2021
-12%
-10%
2022
-21%
-6%
2023
-24%
-7%
2024
-20%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Story County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Story County has about 15 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 38% less than the US as a whole and 18% less than 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 Story County, about 62% 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 Story County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Story County, 2022 to 2024.
In Story County, 55% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often in parking lots and garages: 37% of them, against 23% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (55%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (37%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (61%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (35%)
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 Story County and nearby counties
Story County has more property crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties. Greene County and Boone County have the least property crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Story County. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Story County is safer than 83% of them.
Story County looks like a typical county on the traits that tend to go with property crime.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Story County: D (12 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
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.D+ (24 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 76% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.9.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 68% of Americans
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.48 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 61% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.6.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 56% 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.84% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 55% of Americans
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 Story County
Property crime costs Story County about $9.6 million a year, or $96 per resident and about $252 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
$1.3 million
$13
Theft
$4.7 million
$47
Vehicle theft
$1.2 million
$12
Arson
$68,000
$1
Vandalism
$2.3 million
$23
Total
$9.6 million
$96
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.
