The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Iowa City, IA
Iowa City is the sixth-largest city in Iowa, with 82,700 residents in Johnson County · Updated November 2026
Is Iowa City, IA safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Iowa City is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Iowa City sits near the middle: 52% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 48% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades A- and property crime A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Iowa City run from A+ to C+, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 846 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
52% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Iowa City as a whole, and 48% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Iowa City scores 846.
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 Iowa City, IA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Iowa City, 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 Iowa City
Car thefts run high in Longfellow. In this part of central Iowa City, they run at about triple the rate in the rest of Iowa City.
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Iowa City, 57% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Iowa City
Most of Iowa City grades well: 98% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Iowa City run from A+ to C+; 47% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
98%
A or B 98%C 2%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Mann, northCar thefts run about 50% higher here than in the rest of Iowa City.A853
2Wood, southeastThefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Iowa City.A852
3Lucas & Hoover, eastThefts run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Iowa City.A-846
4Weber & Roosevelt, westThefts run about 50% higher here than in the rest of Iowa City.A-797
5Longfellow, centralThefts run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Iowa City.B+756
6Twain, southThefts run at about triple the rate in the rest of Iowa City.B653
Neighborhood areas of Iowa City, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in Iowa City?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Iowa City is up 39%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.3 to 3.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts stayed at about 17 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 10% and property crime fell 13%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Iowa CityUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Iowa City. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Iowa City
Violent, US
Property, Iowa City
Property, US
2016
+17%
+4%
+25%
+15%
2017
+4%
+4%
+43%
+12%
2018
-0%
+0%
+18%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-10%
+4%
+8%
-8%
2021
+42%
+6%
+0%
-10%
2022
+28%
+5%
+13%
-6%
2023
+55%
+2%
+14%
-7%
2024
+39%
-4%
-1%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Iowa City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Iowa City has about 38 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and 34% 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.
Assault is the most common crime in Iowa City, about 47% 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 Iowa City
Iowa City has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Iowa City, 66% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (66%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (43%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (57%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (31%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (44%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Iowa City compares with nearby cities
Iowa City has the most crime of its 7 nearest cities.
Two things set Iowa City apart: it has 16 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 71 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them; here theft and robbery sit near the national middle.
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 Iowa City: D+ (20 of 100).16 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 89% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.71 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 87% of US city residents
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 and assault. 68% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (27 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 77% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.8.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 73% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.33% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 71% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 63% of US city residents
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 Iowa City
Crime costs Iowa City about $892 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 26% 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 $70 million a year, or $850 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$940,000
$11
Rape
$2.4 million
$29
Robbery
$1.1 million
$14
Assault
$14 million
$174
Burglary
$1.2 million
$14
Theft
$5.5 million
$66
Vehicle theft
$1.5 million
$18
Arson
$82,000
$1
Vandalism
$2.2 million
$27
Total
$29 million
$355
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 Iowa City 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 Iowa City, IA average a SchoolGrade of C: 69% of students test proficient, against 54% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Iowa City on SchoolGrade
