Are Iowa and its Cities Safe or Dangerous to Live in 2024?

How Safe or Dangerous Is Iowa in 2024?

Iowa Safety Scores, out of 100 points (2023)

Iowa, with a 62/100 safety score from overall crime, is known for its acceptable safety and moderate crime rates.

Overall Crime (safety score): 62
Violent Crime (safety score): 63
Property Crime (safety score): 61

Compared to the U.S. average for safety scores from overall crime, this state is safer (+12 pts higher), safer from violent crime (+15 pts higher), and somewhat safer from property crime (+8 pts higher).

Where Does Iowa Rank in Safety Among U.S. States in 2023?

Overall Crime (safety ranking): 9th
Violent Crime (safety ranking): 5th
Property Crime (safety ranking): 18th

Out of the 50 states in America (and D.C.), based on the most recent crime data, Iowa state is ranked 9th in overall safety from overall crime, making it a much safer state comparatively speaking. In terms of individual categories of violent and property crime, Iowa is ranked 5th on safety from violent crime, meaning it's a considerably safer state for this category of crime. With respect to safety from property crime, this state is positioned 18th and is a somewhat safer state relative to others.

Is Iowa Becoming Safer or More Dangerous?

Year-on-Year Change in Safety Scores (2023 vs. 2022)

Overall Crime (Year-on-Year): -1 percentage point
Violent Crime (Year-on-Year): no change
Property Crime (Year-on-Year): -1 percentage point

Compared to 2022 regarding safety scores from overall crime, this state in 2023 is slightly more dangerous overall (-1 pts lower), the same in terms of safety levels from violent crime (unchanged), and slightly more dangerous from property crime (-1 pts lower).

What Is the Likelihood of Becoming a Crime Victim in Iowa in 2024?

Overall Crime: Minor
Violent Crime: Minor
Property Crime: Minor

In Iowa, the overall risk of becoming a victim of crime is minor. Specifically, the risk of becoming a victim of violent crime is minor, and the risk of becoming a victim of property crime is minor.

What Are the Overall Crime Trends in Iowa from 2017 to 2023?

Current Safety from Overall Crime: State Score vs. U.S. Average

Safety Scores from Total Crime
IA State	62
U.S. Avg.	50

Safety from Overall Crime (2017-2023): State Score vs. U.S. Average

	IA State	U.S. Avg.
2023	62	50
2022	63	46
2021	58	45
2020	53	44
2019	56	45
2018	58	44
2017	52	42

Data on Iowa's crime rates indicates that with regard to overall crime, the state compared to the pre-pandemic years, is somewhat safer (+7 pts higher), slightly safer now from violent crime (+4 pts higher), and safer now from property crime (+14 pts higher).

An overview of U.S. overall crime rates demonstrates that, compared with the pre-pandemic era, the nation at present, is somewhat safer (+6 pts higher), slightly safer now from violent crime (+4 pts higher), and somewhat safer now from property crime (+9 pts higher).

Learn more about Iowa's violent crime and property crime in our detailed sections.

Violent Crime: How Safe or Dangerous Is Iowa in 2024?

Safety Scores from Violent Crime, out of 100 points (2023)

Iowa has a 63/100 safety score from violent crime, indicating sound safety practices and average levels of violent crime.

Overall Violent Crime (safety score): 63
Murder (safety score): 70
Rape (safety score): 50
Robbery (safety score): 81
Aggravated Assault (safety score): 50

Compared to the U.S. average for safety scores from violent crime, this state is safer (+15 pts higher), considerably safer from murder (+30 pts higher), somewhat more dangerous from rape (-5 pts lower), much safer from robbery (+23 pts higher), and somewhat safer from aggravated assault (+7 pts higher).

How Does Iowa Rank in Violent Crime Among U.S. States in 2023?

Overall Violent Crime (safety ranking): 5th
Murder (safety ranking): 2nd
Rape (safety ranking): 31st
Robbery (safety ranking): 8th
Aggravated Assault (safety ranking): 22nd

Given the 50 states in America (and D.C.), for which crime data is on record, Iowa state is ranked 5th in overall safety from violent crime, making it a considerably safer state comparatively speaking. In terms of individual categories of violent crime, Iowa is ranked 2nd on safety from murder, meaning it's a significantly safer state for this type of crime. With respect to safety from rape, this state is positioned 31st and is a slightly more dangerous state relative to others. Regarding safety from robbery, this state comes in at 8th place, indicating that it's a much safer state, and for safety from aggravated assault, it's ranked 22nd, making it a slightly safer state.

Is Violent Crime Increasing or Decreasing in Iowa?

Year-on-Year Change in Safety Scores from Violent Crime (2023 vs. 2022)

Overall Violent Crime (Year-on-Year): no change
Murder (Year-on-Year): -3 percentage points
Rape (Year-on-Year): +4 percentage points
Robbery (Year-on-Year): no change
Aggravated Assault (Year-on-Year): +3 percentage points

Compared to 2022 regarding safety scores from violent crime, this state in 2023 is the same in terms of overall safety levels (unchanged), slightly more dangerous from murder (-3 pts lower), slightly safer from rape (+4 pts higher), the same in terms of safety levels from robbery (unchanged), and slightly safer from aggravated assault (+3 pts higher).

What Is the Likelihood of Experiencing Violent Crime in Iowa in 2024?

Overall Violent Crime: Minor
Murder: Minor
Rape: Low
Robbery: Slight
Aggravated Assault: Low

In Iowa, the risk of becoming a victim of violent crime is minor.

What Are the Violent Crime Trends in Iowa from 2017 to 2023?

Current Safety from Violent Crime: State Score vs. U.S. Average

Safety Scores from Total Violent Crime
IA State	63
U.S. Avg.	48

Safety from Violent Crime (2017-2023): State Score vs. U.S. Average

	IA State	U.S. Avg.
2023	63	48
2022	63	43
2021	58	41
2020	55	42
2019	59	44
2018	61	44
2017	55	43

Exploration of crime data in Iowa implies that concerning violent crime, the state compared to the pre-pandemic years, is slightly safer (+4 pts higher), somewhat safer now from murder (+7 pts higher), slightly safer now from rape (+1 pts higher), somewhat safer now from robbery (+9 pts higher), and still on par with the 2017-2019 period in terms of safety from aggravated assault (unchanged).

Analysis of U.S. crime trends suggests that in matters of overall violent crime, the U.S. now, compared to the pre-pandemic years, is slightly safer (+4 pts higher), slightly more dangerous now from murder (-1 pts lower), somewhat safer now from rape (+9 pts higher), safer now from robbery (+11 pts higher), and still on par with the 2017-2019 period in terms of safety from aggravated assault (unchanged).

What Are the Murder Trends in Iowa from 2017 to 2023?

Current Safety from Murder: State Score vs. U.S. Average

Safety Scores from Homicide
IA State	70
U.S. Avg.	40

Safety from Murder (2017-2023): State Score vs. U.S. Average

	IA State	U.S. Avg.
2023	70	40
2022	73	33
2021	65	30
2020	54	32
2019	66	41
2018	66	42
2017	57	40

What Are the Rape Trends in Iowa from 2017 to 2023?

Current Safety from Rape: State Score vs. U.S. Average

Safety Scores from Rape
IA State	50
U.S. Avg.	55

Safety from Rape (2017-2023): State Score vs. U.S. Average

	IA State	U.S. Avg.
2023	50	55
2022	46	49
2021	39	47
2020	48	51
2019	46	45
2018	53	45
2017	48	47

What Are the Robbery Trends in Iowa from 2017 to 2023?

Current Safety from Robbery: State Score vs. U.S. Average

Safety Scores from Robbery
IA State	81
U.S. Avg.	58

Safety from Robbery (2017-2023): State Score vs. U.S. Average

	IA State	U.S. Avg.
2023	81	58
2022	81	56
2021	81	56
2020	75	53
2019	76	50
2018	74	48
2017	67	43

What Are the Aggravated Assault Trends in Iowa from 2017 to 2023?

Current Safety from Aggravated Assault: State Score vs. U.S. Average

Safety Scores from Aggravated Assault
IA State	50
U.S. Avg.	43

Safety from Aggravated Assault (2017-2023): State Score vs. U.S. Average

	IA State	U.S. Avg.
2023	50	43
2022	47	41
2021	47	41
2020	46	40
2019	48	43
2018	51	44
2017	50	43

Property Crime: How Safe or Dangerous Is Iowa in 2024?

Safety Scores from Property Crime, out of 100 points (2023)

With a 61/100 safety score for property crime, Iowa embodies satisfactory safety and a relatively low property crime rates.

Overall Property Crime (safety score): 61
Burglary (safety score): 59
Larceny (safety score): 65
Auto Theft (safety score): 60
Arson (safety score): 48

Compared to the U.S. average for safety scores from property crime, this state is somewhat safer (+8 pts higher), slightly safer from burglary (+1 pts higher), somewhat safer from larceny (+8 pts higher), much safer from auto theft (+21 pts higher), and slightly safer from arson (+3 pts higher).

How Does Iowa Rank in Property Crime Among U.S. States in 2023?

Overall Property Crime (safety ranking): 18th
Burglary (safety ranking): 27th
Larceny (safety ranking): 6th
Auto Theft (safety ranking): 14th
Arson (safety ranking): 21st

From the 50 states in America (and D.C.) with crime data on file, Iowa state is ranked 18th in overall safety from property crime, making it a somewhat safer state comparatively speaking. In terms of individual categories of property crime, Iowa is ranked 27th on safety from burglary, meaning it's a moderately secure state for this type of crime. With respect to safety from larceny, this state is positioned 6th and is a considerably safer state relative to others. Regarding safety from auto theft, this state comes in at 14th place, indicating that it's a safer state, and for safety from arson, it's ranked 21st, making it a slightly safer state.

Is Property Crime Increasing or Decreasing in Iowa?

Year-on-Year Change in Safety Scores from Property Crime (2023 vs. 2022)

Overall Property Crime (Year-on-Year): -1 percentage point
Burglary (Year-on-Year): -1 percentage point
Larceny (Year-on-Year): -1 percentage point
Auto Theft (Year-on-Year): -3 percentage points
Arson (Year-on-Year): -6 percentage points

Compared to 2022 regarding safety scores from property crime, this state in 2023 is slightly more dangerous overall (-1 pts lower), slightly more dangerous from burglary (-1 pts lower), slightly more dangerous from larceny (-1 pts lower), slightly more dangerous from auto theft (-3 pts lower), and somewhat more dangerous from arson (-6 pts lower).

What Is the Likelihood of Experiencing Property Crime in Iowa in 2024?

Overall Property Crime: Minor
Burglary: Minor
Larceny: Minor
Auto Theft: Minor
Arson: Low

In Iowa, the risk of becoming a victim of property crime is minor.

What Are the Property Crime Trends in Iowa from 2017 to 2023?

Current Safety from Property Crime: State Score vs. U.S. Average

Safety Scores from Total Property Crime
IA State	61
U.S. Avg.	53

Safety from Property Crime (2017-2023): State Score vs. U.S. Average

	IA State	U.S. Avg.
2023	61	53
2022	62	51
2021	57	53
2020	50	49
2019	49	48
2018	49	45
2017	43	41

Insights from Iowa's crime data imply that for property crime, the state compared to the pre-pandemic years, is safer (+14 pts higher), much safer now from burglary (+24 pts higher), somewhat safer now from larceny (+9 pts higher), slightly safer now from auto theft (+1 pts higher), and somewhat safer now from arson (+7 pts higher).

Analyzing U.S. crime data points to the fact that, for overall property crime, the current U.S., compared with pre-pandemic times, is somewhat safer (+9 pts higher), safer now from burglary (+19 pts higher), somewhat safer now from larceny (+8 pts higher), more dangerous now from auto theft (-12 pts lower), and somewhat safer now from arson (+6 pts higher).

What Are the Burglary Trends in Iowa from 2017 to 2023?

Current Safety from Burglary: State Score vs. U.S. Average

Safety Scores from Burglary
IA State	59
U.S. Avg.	58

Safety from Burglary (2017-2023): State Score vs. U.S. Average

	IA State	U.S. Avg.
2023	59	58
2022	60	54
2021	54	53
2020	40	48
2019	37	44
2018	37	39
2017	30	32

What Are the Larceny Trends in Iowa from 2017 to 2023?

Current Safety from Larceny: State Score vs. U.S. Average

Safety Scores from Larceny
IA State	65
U.S. Avg.	57

Safety from Larceny (2017-2023): State Score vs. U.S. Average

	IA State	U.S. Avg.
2023	65	57
2022	66	54
2021	63	57
2020	61	54
2019	57	50
2018	58	49
2017	53	47

What Are the Auto Theft Trends in Iowa from 2017 to 2023?

Current Safety from Auto Theft: State Score vs. U.S. Average

Safety Scores from Auto Theft
IA State	60
U.S. Avg.	39

Safety from Auto Theft (2017-2023): State Score vs. U.S. Average

	IA State	U.S. Avg.
2023	60	39
2022	63	44
2021	57	48
2020	56	49
2019	59	52
2018	61	51
2017	59	50

What Are the Arson Trends in Iowa from 2017 to 2023?

Current Safety from Arson: State Score vs. U.S. Average

Safety Scores from Arson
IA State	48
U.S. Avg.	45

Safety from Arson (2017-2023): State Score vs. U.S. Average

	IA State	U.S. Avg.
2023	48	45
2022	54	40
2021	44	50
2020	35	33
2019	42	42
2018	47	39
2017	34	35

The assessments presented on this website, including those related to crime, safety, cost of living, and other location characteristics (e.g., states, cities, towns, villages, neighborhoods, areas, landmarks), are based on various sources and our internal research methods. These assessments are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete and should not be used as the sole basis for making any decisions.

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Is Iowa Safe to Live in 2024?

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