Iowa Violent Crime Rates and Maps

B+

Violent Crime Grade	B
Property Crime Grade	B+
Other Crime Grade	B

Which crimes are included?

$517.2 million

Cost of Crime™ for Iowa

In 2025, violent crime will cost $384 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Iowa 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 B grade reflects how often assault, robbery, rape, and murder occur in Iowa against the average US state, where the rate is slightly lower than the norm. Iowa sits in the 65th percentile for violent-crime safety, ahead of 65% of states and behind 35%. The grade covers only Iowa's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby states.

The violent crime rate in Iowa is 3.051 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the east part of the state the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 291 in the northeast cities to 1 in 366 in the east.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the central parts of Iowa report the most violent crime, about 1,962 cases per year. The west part reports the fewest, around 413 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Iowa

The tangible cost of violent crime in Iowa is projected at $517,166,571 for 2025, about $158 per resident and $384 per household. That equals 0.4% 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): 46.8%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 38.2%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 14.8%

How Much Does Violent Crime Cost in Iowa Compared to Other States?

Iowa:	$158
New Mexico:	$479
Rhode Island:	$114
USA:	$258

The tangible cost of violent crime is $158 per resident each year in Iowa, which is $100 less than the national average. The comparison below uses states similar to Iowa:

In New Mexico, crime costs $479 per person, which is $321 more than in Iowa.
In Rhode Island, crime costs $114 per person, which is $44 less than in Iowa

2025 Projected Violent Crime Cost by Type

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

Crime	Cost to Iowa	Cost per Iowa Resident
Murder	$152.8 million	$47
Rape/Sexual Assault	$148.0 million	$45
Robbery	$22.8 million	$7
Assault	$193.6 million	$59
Total Cost of Violent Crime	$517,166,571	$158

The Human Cost of Violent Crime in Iowa

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 Iowa totals $1,783,949,137 ($545 per resident). Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $2,301,115,708 ($703 per resident). This human toll is what sets violent crime apart from property crime in Iowa, 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 east part of the state 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 Iowa at ISP Reports.

Iowa Violent Crime Breakdown

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

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	2.059
Robbery	0.2214
Rape	0.7457
Murder	0.0248
Total Violent Crime	3.051 (B)

Individual Iowa Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby States

Compared to surrounding states, the rate of violent crime in Iowa is lower. The table below shows Crime Grades for states close to Iowa.

Nearby State	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Wisconsin	B	B-	A-
Minnesota	C	B	C
Illinois	B	B+	B+
Missouri	D	D	D+
Nebraska	C+	B+	C+
South Dakota	C	C	B-
Kansas	D+	C-	C
Indiana	A-	B-	B+
Michigan	B	D+	B+
Kentucky	B-	A-	B

Crime Maps and Rates for State with Similar Populations

Iowa is lower versus other states of the same size for violent crime. The table below compares crime in states with comparable overall population in the state‘s boundaries.

Similar State	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Rhode Island	A	A	A
Mississippi	A+	A+	A+
Montana	C-	D+	D+
Nevada	D	D	D
New Hampshire	A	A+	A+
New Mexico	F	F	F
Ohio	C+	B-	B-
Oklahoma	D+	D+	D+
Puerto Rico	F	F	F
Alaska	C+	F	F

Considering only the violent crime rate, Iowa is as safe as the national average.

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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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.