Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 3.0Reported crime per resident in Burlington fell 45% from 2023 to 2025
Violent crime here is higher than in 82% of U.S. towns; property crime, higher than in 73%. Burlington grades C− for safety overall (#91 of 105 graded towns in Iowa): more crime per resident than 78% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Behind the grade sit 4.1 violent crimes and 18.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 3.2 and 17.9 in the rest of Iowa.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of IA” is every other Iowa city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Burlington
Burlington reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 1 Iowa towns on Burlington’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: West Burlington (D−). Neighbors ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Burlington’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Burlington property | Rest of Iowa property | Burlington violent | Rest of Iowa violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 36.9 | 18.9 | 5.9 | 3.7 |
| 2023 | 22.7 | 20.0 | 5.5 | 3.6 |
| 2024 | 18.3 | 17.9 | 4.1 | 3.1 |
| 2025 | 12.9 | 15.9 | 2.5 | 2.9 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Iowa.
Crime in Burlington per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 3 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Burlington | Rest of Iowa | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.9 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 5.5 | 3.6 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Burlington’s police reported 286 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 4.1 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.2 in the rest of Iowa and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
364 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
60 violent and 304 property, as reported to the FBI by Burlington’s police.
Four people died in crashes on Burlington’s roads in 2019–2023
Burlington had 4 fatal crashes in five years, in which four people died; 1 was a pedestrian and 1 was a cyclist.
That is about what is typical for Iowa towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (3.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Burlington’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Burlington’s own rate (3.4) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Burlington and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | C− | 4.1 | 18.0 |
| West Burlington | D− | 2.5 | 95.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Iowa towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | C− | 4.1 | 18.0 |
| North Liberty | A− | 0.9 | 3.4 |
| Muscatine | C+ | 2.5 | 11.1 |
| Altoona | C+ | 1.6 | 17.7 |
| Coralville | C | 1.5 | 20.8 |
| Clinton | D | 4.8 | 25.2 |
The five graded Iowa towns closest to Burlington’s population (23,336), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Burlington. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Burlington’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (23,555 in 2025); our figure for Burlington is 23,336 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Burlington
Is Burlington, IA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Burlington reports more crime per resident than 78% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #91 of 105 in Iowa. Its police reported 4.1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.2 in the rest of Iowa and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Burlington?
4.1 violent and 18.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Iowa reports 3.2 and 17.9; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Burlington safer than West Burlington?
West Burlington reports more crime per resident than Burlington: West Burlington grades D− for safety and Burlington C−. West Burlington’s police reported 2.5 violent and 95.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Burlington?
Burlington’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Burlington”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Burlington.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.