The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in West Des Moines, IA
West Des Moines is the seventh-largest city in Iowa, with 69,400 residents in Polk County, about 8 miles west of downtown Des Moines · Updated November 2026
Is West Des Moines, IA safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and West Des Moines has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 74% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 920 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
74% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than West Des Moines as a whole, and 26% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. West Des Moines scores 920.
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 West Des Moines, IA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in West Des Moines, 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 West Des Moines
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In West Des Moines, 66% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
Car thefts and burglaries both run low. In West Des Moines, each runs at about half the US rate: 1.3 car thefts and 1.2 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 2.4 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of West Des Moines
Every part of West Des Moines where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across West Des Moines run from A+ to A-; 96% of residents live in areas with 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 West Des Moines, the west side has the least crime and the east side the most.
Is crime going up in West Des Moines?
Reported violent crime in West Des Moines peaked in 2022 and has fallen 35% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is down 16% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults stayed at about 1.6 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 20 to 17 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 22%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
West Des MoinesUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve West Des Moines. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, West Des Moines
Violent, US
Property, West Des Moines
Property, US
2016
+46%
+4%
+15%
+15%
2017
+22%
+4%
+14%
+12%
2018
+6%
+0%
-3%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-7%
+4%
-16%
-8%
2021
-4%
+6%
-15%
-10%
2022
+59%
+5%
-16%
-6%
2023
+10%
+2%
+7%
-7%
2024
+4%
-4%
-16%
-15%
Crime rates and types in West Des Moines
CrimeGrade™ estimates West Des Moines has about 27 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 27% less than the US as a whole and close to 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 West Des Moines is theft, about 57% 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.
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 West Des Moines
West Des Moines has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In West Des Moines, 46% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (46%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (66%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (56%)
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 West Des Moines compares with nearby cities
West Des Moines has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from West Des Moines. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, West Des Moines is safer than 95% of them.
Jobs, parking lots and walkability in West Des Moines
Two things set West Des Moines apart: it has 103 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 4.2 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.103 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 97% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.4.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 95% 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. 83% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 52% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.17.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 93% 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.99% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 67% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.4.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 67% 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 West Des Moines
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs West Des Moines about $538 a year per household, 55% 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 $36 million a year, or $521 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$590,000
$8
Rape
$900,000
$13
Robbery
$260,000
$4
Assault
$5.4 million
$78
Burglary
$730,000
$10
Theft
$5.5 million
$79
Vehicle theft
$1.4 million
$20
Arson
$42,000
$1
Vandalism
$1.1 million
$15
Total
$16 million
$229
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 West Des Moines 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 West Des Moines, IA average a SchoolGrade of C-: 71% of students test proficient, against 56% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in West Des Moines on SchoolGrade
