The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in North Liberty, IA
North Liberty is a city of 23,800 in Johnson County, about 7 miles northwest of downtown Iowa City · Updated November 2026
Is North Liberty, IA safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and North Liberty has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 81% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 937 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
81% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than North Liberty as a whole, and 19% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. North Liberty scores 937.
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 North Liberty, IA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in North Liberty, 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 North Liberty
Thefts and acts of vandalism both run low. In North Liberty, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 2.6 thefts and 1.4 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 5.5 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of North Liberty
Every part of North Liberty where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across North Liberty run from A+ to A; every part of North Liberty has less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within North Liberty, the northwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in North Liberty?
Reported property crime in North Liberty has fallen 37% since 2019. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 6.3 to 4.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime rose 36%.
Property crime, change since 2019
North LibertyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves North Liberty. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, North Liberty
Property, US
2016
+5%
+15%
2017
+63%
+12%
2018
+5%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-4%
-8%
2021
-36%
-10%
2022
-42%
-6%
2023
-54%
-7%
2024
-37%
-15%
Crime rates and types in North Liberty
CrimeGrade™ estimates North Liberty has about 11 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 69% less than the US as a whole and 60% 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.
The largest share of crime reported in North Liberty is assault, about 52% of the total. It also makes up 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.
The North Liberty Police Department's 2024 count of aggravated assault fell far below its usual level, a sign of a reporting break, so CrimeGrade™ used the department's earlier years instead.
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 North Liberty
North Liberty has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 56% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (56%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (43%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How North Liberty compares with nearby cities
Of the 8 cities closest to North Liberty, 5 have less crime. Oxford and Swisher have the least.
Parking lots, shops and walkability in North Liberty
North Liberty looks like a typical city on the traits that tend to go with crime.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 75% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 71% 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. 84% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 57% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.8% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 65% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.34 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 64% of US city residents
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.88% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 64% 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 North Liberty
Crime costs North Liberty about $330 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 73% 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 $8.2 million a year, or $343 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$140,000
$6
Rape
$200,000
$9
Robbery
$10,000
under $1
Assault
$1.6 million
$68
Burglary
$190,000
$8
Theft
$320,000
$13
Vehicle theft
$130,000
$6
Arson
$6,200
under $1
Vandalism
$240,000
$10
Total
$2.9 million
$120
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 North Liberty 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. North Liberty is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 North Liberty, IA average a SchoolGrade of A-: 80% of students test proficient, against 63% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in North Liberty on SchoolGrade
