The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Webster County, IA
Webster County is home to 36,900 residents and includes Fort Dodge and Gowrie · Updated November 2026
Is Webster County, IA safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Webster County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 60% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Webster County run from A+ to D+, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 880 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
60% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Webster County as a whole, and 40% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Webster County scores 880.
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 Webster County, IA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Webster 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 Webster County
Robberies are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Webster County runs 36% above the US rate, but robberies run 44% below it: 0.34 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Aggravated assaults run high for an A-graded county. Webster County has 6.3 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US county, the figure is 1.6.
The safest and least safe parts of Webster County
Most of Webster County grades well: 78% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 3% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Webster County run from A+ to D+; 46% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
78%19%
A or B 78%C 19%D or F 3%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Across the county, the southwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Webster County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Webster County is up 80% and property crime is down 17%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.4 to 7.9 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 28 to 23 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 48%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Webster CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Webster County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Webster County
Violent, US
Property, Webster County
Property, US
2016
+1%
+4%
+6%
+15%
2017
+24%
+4%
+20%
+12%
2018
+22%
+0%
+12%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+32%
+4%
-4%
-8%
2021
-11%
+6%
-31%
-10%
2022
+7%
+5%
-17%
-6%
2023
+22%
+2%
-15%
-7%
2024
+80%
-4%
-17%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Webster County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Webster County has about 51 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 36% more than the US as a whole and 78% 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 makes up about 35% of crime reported in Webster County. Assault is less common but 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.
Where and when crime happens in Webster County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Webster County, 2022 to 2024.
In Webster County, 64% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 32% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (64%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (32%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (50%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (59%)
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 Webster County compares with nearby counties
Webster County has the most crime of its 10 nearest counties.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in Webster County
Webster County looks like a typical county on the traits that tend to go with crime.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.9.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 83% 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.68% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 72% 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. 86% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (14 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 62% of Americans
Show all 6
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 69% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 65% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.47 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 60% 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 Webster County
Crime costs Webster County about $1,629 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 35% more 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 $90 million a year, or $2,436 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$3.9 million
$107
Rape
$2.4 million
$65
Robbery
$400,000
$11
Assault
$9.4 million
$256
Burglary
$1.1 million
$29
Theft
$3.3 million
$90
Vehicle theft
$1.4 million
$37
Arson
$310,000
$8
Vandalism
$2.3 million
$61
Total
$24 million
$664
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 Webster 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 Webster County, IA average a SchoolGrade of D: 65% of students test proficient, against 54% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Webster County on SchoolGrade
