Ames is the eighth-largest city in Iowa, with 71,300 residents in Story County · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Ames?
Violent crime in Ames is a little lower than in most US neighborhoods: an A, safer than the neighborhoods where 66% of Americans live. Assaults make up 90% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 909 of 1,000Less violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
66% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Ames as a whole, and 34% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Ames scores 909.
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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Ames, IA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Ames, 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 about violent crime in Ames
One weak spot: reported rape. It grades B- in Ames, worse than in the neighborhoods where 84% of Americans live, against A for violent crime as a whole.
Aggravated assaults are uncommon. Ames has aggravated assaults at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.71 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Ames
Every part of Ames where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across Ames run from A+ to B+.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Northridge, northwestClose to the rest of Ames on most crimes.A+974
2North Ames, North West Ames & Somer Street, northSimple assaults run about 20% lower here than in the rest of Ames.A+938
3Iowa State University, centralSimple assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Ames.A913
4College Creek, southwestClose to the rest of Ames on most crimes.A908
5Sawyer West & Ontario, westClose to the rest of Ames on most crimes.A903
6Crawford, southClose to the rest of Ames on most crimes.A886
7Mitchel, southeastSimple assaults run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Ames.A885
8Downtown Ames, eastSimple assaults run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Ames.A-840
Neighborhood areas of Ames, ranked by violent crime 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 violent crime going up in Ames?
Reported violent crime in Ames has fallen 32% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.1 to 1.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 16%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
AmesUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Ames. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Ames
Violent, US
2016
-21%
+4%
2017
-9%
+4%
2018
-18%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-11%
+4%
2021
-2%
+6%
2022
+2%
+5%
2023
-18%
+2%
2024
-32%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Ames
CrimeGrade™ estimates Ames has about 7.3 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 46% less than the US as a whole and 31% less than Iowa.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Ames, about 90% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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 violent crime happens in Ames
Ames has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Ames, 61% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Aggravated assault
Homes (61%)
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.
Violent crime in Ames and nearby cities
Ames has the most violent crime of its 5 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Ames apart: it has 36% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more robbery.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Ames: D (18 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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 assault. 62% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (28 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 78% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.36% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 73% of US city residents
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.53 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 68% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Ames on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 violent crime costs Ames
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Ames about $33 million a year, or $462 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $8.2 million, or $115 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 75% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$810,000
$11
Rape
$2.7 million
$38
Robbery
$150,000
$2
Assault
$4.5 million
$63
Total
$8.2 million
$115
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
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.
