The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Black Hawk County, IA
Black Hawk County is home to 131,000 residents and includes Waterloo and Cedar Falls · Updated November 2026
Is Black Hawk County, IA safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Black Hawk County is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Black Hawk County sits near the middle: 59% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 41% in neighborhoods with less. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Black Hawk County run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 874 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
59% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Black Hawk County as a whole, and 41% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Black Hawk County scores 874.
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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 Black Hawk County, IA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Black Hawk 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 in Black Hawk County
Burglary stands out among A-graded counties. For the typical resident of an A-graded US county, the figure is 1.4 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; Black Hawk County has 3.7.
Robbery runs low. Black Hawk County has 0.20 robberies a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 0.62.
The safest and most dangerous places in Black Hawk County
Most of Black Hawk County grades well: 89% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 3% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Black Hawk County run from A+ to F; 73% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
89%
A or B 89%C 8%D or F 3%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Black Hawk County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the Hudson area has the least crime and the Waterloo area the most.
Crime rates and types in Black Hawk County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Black Hawk County has about 34 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 9% less than the US as a whole and 20% more than Iowa.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Black Hawk County, about 36% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. 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.
How Black Hawk County compares with nearby counties
Black Hawk County has the most crime of its 10 nearest counties.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Black Hawk County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Black Hawk County has more crime than 63% of them.
Transit, jobs and walkability in Black Hawk County
Black Hawk County looks like a typical county on the traits that tend to go with crime.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Black Hawk County: D- (7 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.57 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 84% 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. 74% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (21 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 68% of Americans
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 76% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.8% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 68% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.6.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 57% 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 crime costs Black Hawk County
Crime costs Black Hawk County about $879 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 27% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $48 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $142 million a year, or $1,081 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$6.8 million
$52
Rape
$2.4 million
$18
Robbery
$820,000
$6
Assault
$16 million
$125
Burglary
$4.4 million
$33
Theft
$8.3 million
$63
Vehicle theft
$2.8 million
$22
Arson
$550,000
$4
Vandalism
$5.3 million
$41
Total
$48 million
$364
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Black Hawk County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
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.
Schools in Black Hawk County, IA average a SchoolGrade of B: 74% of students test proficient, against 57% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Black Hawk County on SchoolGrade
