AdvisorSmith segmented the cities and towns into three population sizes, which included small towns, midsize cities, and large cities. In Iowa, we studied 79 small towns with populations under 10,000, 30 midsize cities with populations ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 residents, and 10 large cities with at least 50,000 residents.
Continue reading to discover the safest small towns, midsize cities, and large cities in Iowa.
Safest Large Cities in Iowa
Iowa had 10 cities in our study with populations totaling over 50,000 residents, and the average crime score in these cities was 60. The range of crime scores for large cities in Iowa was as low as 26 and as high as 105.
The safest large city in Iowa was Ankeny, a fast-growing city in the northern portion of the Des Moines metropolitan area. Ankeny features a variety of amenities such as parks, aquatic centers, hiking trails, golf courses, dog parks, and more.
The large city with the most crime in Iowa was Davenport. The city is located on the north bank of the Mississippi River on the border of Illinois, across from Moline. Several notable music festivals take place in Davenport, including the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, and the Mississippi Valley Fair. The city’s economy is based around manufacturing, with John Deere being a major employer in nearby Moline.
Rank | City | Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents | Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents | Crime Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ankeny | 6.9 | 9.6 | 26.0 |
2 | Ames | 5.7 | 14.7 | 30.8 |
3 | Iowa City | 11.7 | 19.3 | 44.7 |
4 | Dubuque | 21.0 | 22.6 | 58.3 |
5 | Cedar Rapids | 12.0 | 35.4 | 61.9 |
6 | Des Moines | 7.2 | 12.2 | 62.3 |
7 | Council Bluffs | 12.8 | 40.0 | 65.7 |
8 | Waterloo | 16.4 | 27.4 | 70.5 |
9 | Sioux City | 17.2 | 36.7 | 76.9 |
10 | Davenport | 22.2 | 47.2 | 104.8 |
Safest Midsize Cities in Iowa
Thirty midsize Iowa cities in our study had populations between 10,000 and 50,000 residents. In these cities, the average crime score was 52, ranging from 12 to 106.
The safest midsize city in Iowa was Norwalk. This city is located in the southern portion of the Des Moines metropolitan area. The city boasts three golf courses among primarily residential developments and has grown over the past century primarily by annexing nearby neighborhoods.
Rank | City | Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents | Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents | Crime Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Norwalk | 2.3 | 6.7 | 12.2 |
2 | Waukee | 2.2 | 5.4 | 14.1 |
3 | Johnston | 7.6 | 8.5 | 21.7 |
4 | Cedar Falls | 3.2 | 12.2 | 22.4 |
5 | Bettendorf | 3.5 | 17.3 | 26.0 |
6 | North Liberty | 4.5 | 6.3 | 26.2 |
7 | Urbandale | 4.5 | 12.4 | 26.6 |
8 | Marion | 6.8 | 14.0 | 31.2 |
9 | Pella | 5.7 | 7.4 | 32.7 |
10 | Boone | 7.0 | 10.6 | 33.3 |
11 | Muscatine | 6.1 | 12.7 | 33.6 |
12 | Spencer | 8.4 | 16.3 | 35.4 |
13 | Fairfield | 6.0 | 23.9 | 37.9 |
14 | Altoona | 8.2 | 27.3 | 41.9 |
15 | Oskaloosa | 9.5 | 21.4 | 47.2 |
16 | Clinton | 14.8 | 21.9 | 52.4 |
17 | Clive | 4.8 | 15.3 | 52.6 |
18 | Pleasant Hill | 8.7 | 32.6 | 54.4 |
19 | Fort Madison | 8.7 | 24.8 | 58.4 |
20 | Waverly | 12.4 | 11.4 | 60.4 |
21 | Coralville | 10.2 | 32.5 | 62.2 |
22 | Newton | 13.5 | 25.6 | 65.4 |
23 | Marshalltown | 13.3 | 26.0 | 66.9 |
24 | Storm Lake | 18.1 | 12.8 | 70.9 |
25 | Burlington | 16.8 | 35.2 | 84.5 |
26 | Mason City | 16.7 | 31.8 | 88.9 |
27 | Indianola | 18.3 | 26.2 | 92.2 |
28 | Keokuk | 8.7 | 39.0 | 92.7 |
29 | Fort Dodge | 18.8 | 42.2 | 94.9 |
30 | Ottumwa | 18.8 | 52.8 | 106.2 |
Safest Small Towns in Iowa
The table below shows 79 small towns in the state of Iowa along with their violent and property crime rates per 1,000 residents, along with each town’s crime score. The average crime score in Iowa’s small towns was 37, and this score ranged from 2 in the safest cities to as high as 107.
The safest small town in Iowa was Eldridge, a small city of about 7,000 residents located to the north of Davenport and a part of the Quad Cities metropolitan area. A notable attraction in the town is the Helium Trampoline Park, which features 40,000 square feet of trampolines and other fun activities for families and children.
Rank | City | Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents | Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents | Crime Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Eldridge | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 |
2 | Belmond | 0.0 | 0.9 | 5.2 |
3 | Lake City | 0.6 | 1.8 | 7.2 |
4 | Rock Valley | 0.3 | 4.7 | 7.5 |
5 | Orange City | 1.5 | 4.4 | 8.0 |
6 | New Sharon | 0.0 | 2.3 | 9.3 |
7 | Forest City | 2.9 | 3.7 | 11.2 |
8 | Sigourney | 4.0 | 5.5 | 12.7 |
9 | Humboldt | 1.7 | 8.9 | 12.8 |
10 | Polk City | 2.9 | 6.2 | 13.4 |
11 | Harlan | 3.5 | 3.9 | 13.9 |
12 | Williamsburg | 1.3 | 6.4 | 14.4 |
13 | Cresco | 4.0 | 6.9 | 14.5 |
14 | Marengo | 3.7 | 3.3 | 14.7 |
15 | Mount Vernon | 2.7 | 3.6 | 15.2 |
16 | Hawarden | 4.0 | 2.4 | 16.9 |
17 | Hampton | 1.7 | 2.1 | 17.1 |
18 | Vinton | 4.5 | 4.3 | 17.7 |
19 | State Center | 4.8 | 1.4 | 19.2 |
20 | Sergeant Bluff | 4.6 | 7.8 | 19.2 |
21 | Decorah | 2.5 | 12.8 | 19.2 |
22 | Emmetsburg | 2.1 | 3.7 | 20.4 |
23 | Lisbon | 3.1 | 11.1 | 22.3 |
24 | Anamosa | 3.5 | 12.5 | 22.4 |
25 | New Hampton | 1.8 | 1.8 | 23.9 |
26 | Osage | 4.5 | 7.3 | 25.5 |
27 | Ogden | 5.9 | 6.4 | 26.7 |
28 | Story City | 8.0 | 7.7 | 26.8 |
29 | Dyersville | 7.0 | 13.3 | 29.2 |
30 | Monticello | 3.3 | 13.1 | 29.2 |
31 | Oelwein | 3.7 | 14.9 | 30.3 |
32 | Prairie City | 0.6 | 1.7 | 31.1 |
33 | Denison | 9.2 | 8.8 | 31.3 |
34 | Bloomfield | 9.7 | 11.9 | 31.8 |
35 | Iowa Falls | 5.2 | 18.1 | 32.1 |
36 | Shenandoah | 5.5 | 9.4 | 32.2 |
37 | Albia | 5.1 | 12.8 | 32.7 |
38 | Blue Grass | 4.2 | 11.4 | 33.2 |
39 | Carroll | 2.7 | 3.4 | 34.1 |
40 | Tipton | 0.9 | 0.9 | 36.0 |
41 | Osceola | 8.2 | 21.2 | 37.3 |
42 | Perry | 5.9 | 12.4 | 37.5 |
43 | Independence | 8.7 | 19.0 | 37.6 |
44 | Dewitt | 8.5 | 13.5 | 37.9 |
45 | Mount Pleasant | 9.6 | 16.6 | 37.9 |
46 | Algona | 4.9 | 4.0 | 38.5 |
47 | Washington | 8.4 | 11.3 | 38.7 |
48 | Van Meter | 3.5 | 13.9 | 39.2 |
49 | Charles City | 8.5 | 16.6 | 41.7 |
50 | Mechanicsville | 4.5 | 12.5 | 42.9 |
51 | Estherville | 8.0 | 6.5 | 43.0 |
52 | Sheldon | 1.4 | 0.6 | 43.1 |
53 | Camanche | 7.2 | 11.0 | 43.1 |
54 | Jefferson | 9.0 | 16.7 | 43.7 |
55 | Cherokee | 9.1 | 4.9 | 43.9 |
56 | Carlisle | 11.2 | 12.2 | 43.9 |
57 | Clarion | 8.0 | 4.0 | 44.2 |
58 | Winterset | 6.8 | 16.3 | 44.6 |
59 | Creston | 9.8 | 19.8 | 45.5 |
60 | Glenwood | 11.8 | 13.2 | 48.3 |
61 | Le Mars | 19.9 | 16.3 | 49.0 |
62 | Dayton | 6.3 | 11.3 | 49.7 |
63 | Audubon | 10.0 | 13.1 | 49.8 |
64 | Webster City | 9.8 | 11.1 | 51.5 |
65 | Toledo | 5.6 | 4.2 | 52.3 |
66 | Clear Lake | 12.9 | 19.4 | 52.7 |
67 | Evansdale | 9.9 | 18.7 | 54.6 |
68 | Manchester | 10.4 | 21.0 | 55.3 |
69 | Maquoketa | 17.2 | 24.5 | 55.5 |
70 | Atlantic | 6.2 | 6.9 | 56.1 |
71 | Clarinda | 16.6 | 18.5 | 68.7 |
72 | Spirit Lake | 20.7 | 18.9 | 76.2 |
73 | Centerville | 13.3 | 39.3 | 76.8 |
74 | Grinnell | 23.3 | 26.1 | 78.8 |
75 | Adel | 14.5 | 45.2 | 79.3 |
76 | Red Oak | 20.5 | 22.0 | 80.2 |
77 | Colfax | 16.0 | 20.9 | 82.1 |
78 | Windsor Heights | 7.7 | 54.6 | 82.2 |
79 | West Burlington | 9.9 | 85.4 | 107.0 |
Methodology
This study was based on crime data from Return A and the Uniform Crime Reporting Data Set, which is published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We examined crime statistics in 119 cities in the state of Iowa, including data on the violent and property crimes reported in each city. Crimes reported in the data set included murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.
We created a proprietary crime score for each city based upon the per capita rates of crime in each city, which weighted crimes based on their severity. For example, murder, which is a more serious crime than larceny, was given a higher weighting in the crime score. Cities with less than two months of crime data were excluded from our analysis, while cities with less than 12 months of data were scaled proportionally so that their crime scores would reflect a full year equivalent of reporting.
We divided cities into small towns, midsize cities, or large cities based upon each city’s population. Cities with over 50,000 residents were considered large cities, while midsize cities were those with between 10,000 and 50,000 residents. Cities with less than 10,000 residents were considered small towns. We ranked the cities and towns in the state to discover the safest small towns, midsize cities, and large cities in the state of Iowa.
Sources
1. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A, 2018