Zenith, Des Moines, WA Violent Crime Rates and Maps

Zenith is a neighborhood of 4,900 residents in Des Moines · Updated November 2026

How common is violent crime in Zenith?

Violent crime in Zenith runs higher than in most US neighborhoods: an A-, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 66% of Americans live. Assaults make up 93% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury. Des Moines as a whole grades B for violent crime.

A-
Violent crime CrimeGrade™Safety score 776 of 1,000
More violent crime than most US neighborhoods What this means

34% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Zenith as a whole, and 66% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Zenith scores 776.

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.

B
Overall crimeSafety score 670 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoods
C+
Property crimeSafety score 489 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoods

How it works


Violent crime map of Zenith

Map of Zenith shaded by violent crime CrimeGrade™, from green for the least crime to red for the most
Click the map to explore
F D C B A+
Highest crime Safest
Colorblind friendly off

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 Zenith, Des Moines, WA at ISP Reports.

Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Zenith in 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


Violent crime rates and types in Zenith

CrimeGrade™ estimates Zenith has about 9.1 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 32% less than the US as a whole and 34% less than Des Moines as a whole.

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 Zenith, about 93% of the total.

CrimeCrimeGrade™Reported a yearPer 1,000 residentsUS per 1,000
MurderA-under 10.030.05
RapeA-10.230.38
RobberyB-20.390.62
AssaultB+428.512.3

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 Des Moines

The Des Moines Police Department polices Zenith; these figures cover Des Moines as a whole, 2022 to 2024.

In Des Moines as a whole, 43% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 42% of them.

CrimeMost often atBusiest time
RobberyStores and businesses (42%)Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assaultHomes (43%)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 Zenith and nearby neighborhoods

Zenith has less violent crime than 7 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.

Nearby neighborhoods

PlaceViolentOverallResidents
ZenithA-776B4,900
North Hill 2 milesA-839A-5,080
Downtown 4 milesD+250F5,620
Twin Lakes 6 milesB+764B10,100
Northeast Tacoma 7 milesA-770B20,600
Show all 10
PlaceViolentOverallResidents
Lea Hill 8 milesB+713B17,800
Highline 8 milesC-348D+26,900
Shorewood 8 milesB648C3,560
Arbor Heights 9 milesA-784B-5,250
Rainier Beach 9 milesF16F20,200
Fairwood Greens 10 milesA-817B+5,610

Nearest first, with each place's distance from Zenith. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).

Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, Zenith has more violent crime than 53% of them.

Neighborhoods of similar size and density

PlaceViolentOverallResidents
ZenithA-776B4,900
Biltmore Shores, Massapequa, NYA+933A4,910
South Amherst, Amherst, MAA922A+4,900
River Dance at Steiner Ranch, Austin, TXA915A4,880
West Main Street Historic District, Norwalk, OHA900A4,890
Show all 10
PlaceViolentOverallResidents
Olde Providence South, Charlotte, NCA899A4,900
Forest Ridge-Quail Hollow, Dayton, OHA-831A-4,910
Park Forest, Kansas City, MOA-806A-4,900
Rockfish, Raeford, NCA-780A-4,890
Muncie-Stony PT., Kansas City, KSB667B4,910
Western Hills, Beaumont, TXB637B4,900

Walkability, density and tree cover in Zenith

Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Zenith apart: it has a Walk Grade of F (5 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 3% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less assault, yet assault runs higher here than that would suggest.

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. 100% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (5 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 98% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.3% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 97% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Tree coverThe share of land under tree canopy where people live. Leafy neighborhoods tend to report less robbery.28% where people liveUS: 21%Higher than for 89% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.17 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 76% of residents of US city neighborhoods

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 Zenith

Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Zenith about $3.3 million a year, or $682 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $790,000, or $161 per resident.

Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year


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
  • Population and housing figures from the US Census Bureau
  • 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.

More about CrimeGrade™ data