Dawson is a city of 384 in Dallas County, about 35 miles northwest of downtown Des Moines · Updated November 2026
Is Dawson, IA safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Dawson: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 99% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 989 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
99% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Dawson as a whole, and 1% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Dawson scores 989.
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 Dawson, IA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Dawson, 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 Dawson
Crime per resident runs higher than the grade. Dawson draws many workers, shoppers and visitors: it has 68 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Crimes against them are counted against the few who live here, so crime per resident looks higher than the CrimeGrade™ suggests. The CrimeGrade™ counts everyone who spends time here.
Crime rates and types in Dawson
CrimeGrade™ estimates Dawson has about 21 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 44% less than the US as a whole and 27% less 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.
Assault is the most common crime in Dawson, about 49% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
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.
Where and when crime happens in Dawson
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office polices Dawson, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Vandalism
Homes (40%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (63%)
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.
How Dawson compares with nearby cities
Dawson has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest cities.
Crime costs Dawson about $917 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 24% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $610,000 a year, or $1,591 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$39,000
$100
Rape
$12,000
$32
Robbery
$440
$1
Assault
$58,000
$151
Burglary
$9,500
$25
Theft
$4,600
$12
Vehicle theft
$2,900
$7
Arson
$1,900
$5
Vandalism
$12,000
$30
Total
$140,000
$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 Dawson 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 Dawson, IA average a SchoolGrade of D-: 67% of students test proficient, against 56% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Dawson on SchoolGrade
