Buffalo Center, IA Violent Crime Rates and Maps

D+

Violent Crime Grade	D-
Property Crime Grade	C
Other Crime Grade	D+

Which crimes are included?

$366,989

Cost of Crime™ for Buffalo Center, IA

In 2025, violent crime will cost $603 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Buffalo Center with the least violent crime and red marks the most, weighted by the type and severity of each offense. Violent crime concentrates where people gather after dark, near nightlife, bars, and transit, more than on residential streets. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read those hot spots.

The D- grade reflects how often assault, robbery, rape, and murder occur in Buffalo Center against the average US city, where the rate is much higher than the norm. Buffalo Center sits in the 10th percentile for violent-crime safety, ahead of 10% of cities and behind 90%. The grade covers only Buffalo Center's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The violent crime rate in Buffalo Center is 6.782 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the northwest part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 129 in the central neighborhoods to 1 in 309 in the northwest.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the central parts of Buffalo Center, IA report the most violent crime, about 4 cases per year. The north part reports the fewest, around 0 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Buffalo Center, IA

The tangible cost of violent crime in Buffalo Center is projected at $366,989 for 2025, about $297 per resident and $603 per household. That equals 0.8% of the median household income, and it counts only the bills that can be totaled: emergency care, lost wages, and the justice response. The larger cost, the harm to victims, comes later on this page. These tangible costs split into:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 45.2%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 41.1%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 13.5%

How Much Does Violent Crime Cost in Buffalo Center Compared to Other Cities?

Buffalo Center, IA:	$297
Denison, IA:	$286
Norwalk, IA:	$78
Iowa:	$158
USA:	$258

The tangible cost of violent crime is $297 per resident each year in Buffalo Center, which is $38 more than the national average and $139 more than Iowa's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Buffalo Center:

In Denison, IA, crime costs $286 per person, which is $10 less than in Buffalo Center.
In Norwalk, IA, crime costs $78 per person, which is $219 less than in Buffalo Center

2025 Projected Violent Crime Cost by Type

The table below breaks the violent-crime total into its four offenses for Buffalo Center, with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Buffalo Center	Cost per Buffalo Center Resident
Murder	$93,246	$75
Rape/Sexual Assault	$61,798	$50
Robbery	$19,651	$16
Assault	$192,293	$155
Total Cost of Violent Crime	$366,989	$297

The Human Cost of Violent Crime in Buffalo Center, IA

Much of what violent crime costs never reaches a bill. Pain, trauma, and lost quality of life for victims and their families typically outweigh the medical and legal totals above. Research-based methods put a figure on that harm so it can be compared across places. By those methods, the human cost of violent crime in Buffalo Center totals $974,035 ($787 per resident). Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $1,341,023 ($1,084 per resident). This human toll is what sets violent crime apart from property crime in Buffalo Center, IA, where the loss is mostly replaceable property. All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Violent Crime Maps

Violent crime rates are measured per resident, so places packed with visitors after dark read high even when few people live there. Bars, clubs, event venues, and transit hubs draw the crowds where assaults and robberies cluster. How strongly this shows on the map depends on the commercial base; the central part of the city has more retail establishments. A red block full of bars and venues does not mean the homes around it are dangerous.

Transit stations show the same effect: large moving crowds, few residents, so per-capita violent crime reads high. Before judging a residential street, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total count of incidents, and note what draws crowds nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Buffalo Center, IA at ISP Reports.

Buffalo Center Violent Crime Breakdown

The table below shows which offenses feed the Violent Crime Grade above, each as crimes per 1,000 Buffalo Center residents in a standard year.

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	5.413
Robbery	0.5050
Rape	0.8239
Murder	0.0401
Total Violent Crime	6.782 (D-)

Individual Buffalo Center Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of violent crime in Buffalo Center is higher. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to Buffalo Center.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Rake, IA	B-	C-	C+
Lakota, IA	B	A	B+
Thompson, IA	C	C+	C
Elmore, MN	D+	B-	D
Titonka, IA	C+	A	C-
Woden, IA	C-	D+	C
Ledyard, IA	B	B	A-
Frost, MN	B-	B+	B-
Bricelyn, MN	C+	C-	B-
Crystal Lake, IA	D	D-	D

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Buffalo Center is higher versus other cities of the same size for violent crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Taneyville, MO	C	D	D
Ravenna, TX	C	B-	B-
Robinsonville, MS	D	D	D
Lake George, MI	C	D-	D-
Lacassine, LA	B+	A-	A-
Stewardson, IL	A-	B+	B+
Fayetteville, TX	D	C-	C-
Surf City, NJ	B+	A+	A+
Evergreen, TX	C+	A-	A-
Ramah, CO	D-	D-	D-

Considering only the violent crime rate, Buffalo Center is less safe than the Iowa state average and less safe than the national average.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.