Iowa City is the sixth-largest city in Iowa, with 82,700 residents in Johnson County · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Iowa City?
Iowa City earns an A- for violent crime, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 54% of Americans live. Assaults make up 95% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A-
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 842 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
46% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Iowa City as a whole, and 54% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Iowa City scores 842.
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 Iowa City, IA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Iowa City, 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 Iowa City
Robberies are less common than the crime level suggests. Violent crime in Iowa City runs 40% above the US rate, but robberies run 30% below it: 0.44 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Aggravated assaults run high in Twain. In this part of south Iowa City, they run at more than double the rate in the rest of Iowa City.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Iowa City
Most of Iowa City grades well for violent crime: 98% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Violent crime grades across Iowa City run from A+ to C+.
98%
A or B 98%C 2%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Mann, northSimple assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Iowa City.A860
2Lucas & Hoover, eastClose to the rest of Iowa City on most crimes.A-840
3Wood, southeastAggravated assaults run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Iowa City.A-827
4Weber & Roosevelt, westClose to the rest of Iowa City on most crimes.A-794
5Longfellow, centralAggravated assaults run about 50% higher here than in the rest of Iowa City.B+760
6Twain, southSimple assaults run at more than double the rate in the rest of Iowa City.B625
Neighborhood areas of Iowa City, 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 Iowa City?
Reported violent crime in Iowa City has risen 39% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.3 to 3.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 10%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Iowa CityUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Iowa City. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Iowa City
Violent, US
2016
+17%
+4%
2017
+4%
+4%
2018
-0%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-10%
+4%
2021
+42%
+6%
2022
+28%
+5%
2023
+55%
+2%
2024
+39%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Iowa City
CrimeGrade™ estimates Iowa City has about 19 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 40% more than the US as a whole and 77% more 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 Iowa City, about 95% 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 Iowa City
Iowa City has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Iowa City, 44% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 31% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (31%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (44%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Violent crime in Iowa City and nearby cities
Iowa City has the most violent crime of its 7 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Iowa City. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Iowa City is safer than 56% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Iowa City apart: it has 16 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby, and 71 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with both tend to report more robbery than places with only one of them; here robbery sits near the national middle.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Iowa City: D+ (20 of 100).16 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 89% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.71 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 87% 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. 68% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (27 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 77% of US city residents
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.33% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 71% 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 violent crime costs Iowa City
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Iowa City about $60 million a year, or $722 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $19 million, or $229 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 68% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$940,000
$11
Rape
$2.4 million
$29
Robbery
$1.1 million
$14
Assault
$14 million
$174
Total
$19 million
$229
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.
