Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School · Photo: Larry Day, Photographer · Public domainDes Moines reports more crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Des Moines’ police in 2023–2025, it grades D for safety: #100 of 105 graded towns in Iowa, and #249 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
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 Des Moines
4 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 Iowa towns on Des Moines’ borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Norwalk (A), Urbandale (B+), West Des Moines (C+), Windsor Heights (D). Pleasant Hill reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
Des Moines’ police reported 3 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 3.3 per 100,000 residents a year, above the rest of Iowa (2.3) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 3.4 times the rest of Iowa
76.8 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (138 reported in 2025), 3.4 times the rest of Iowa (22.5) and about the same as all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Des Moines reports less crime per resident than 23% (#249). Places like it ↓
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 Des Moines’ 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 is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2023–2025, against the rest of Iowa.
Show as a table
| Year | Des Moines property | Rest of Iowa property | Des Moines violent | Rest of Iowa violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 33.5 | 18.4 | 7.1 | 3.2 |
| 2024 | 31.3 | 16.4 | 7.0 | 2.7 |
| 2025 | 28.1 | 14.5 | 6.4 | 2.6 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 28 property crimes reported
And about 6 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
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.
Homicides and robberies
Des Moines’ police reported 3 homicides, 138 robberies and 1,364 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Iowa and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Des Moines | Rest of Iowa | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 4.3 | 2.0 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Des Moines | Rest of Iowa | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 90.6 | 27.2 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 75.0 | 23.1 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 64.8 | 17.7 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
7,356 crimes reported in 2025
1,364 violent and 5,992 property, as reported to the FBI by Des Moines’ police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
99 people died in crashes on Des Moines’s roads in 2019–2023
Des Moines had 91 fatal crashes in five years, in which 99 people died; 16 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist. 9 died in crashes on an Interstate.
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.
Des Moines and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | D | 6.8 | 31.0 |
| West Des Moines | C+ | 1.6 | 18.1 |
| Pleasant Hill | — | — | — |
| Urbandale | B+ | 1.1 | 6.1 |
| Norwalk | A | 0.7 | 2.9 |
| Windsor Heights | D | 1.4 | 41.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Pleasant Hill reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023.
Iowa towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | D | 6.8 | 31.0 |
| Cedar Rapids | C− | 2.7 | 25.6 |
The five graded Iowa towns closest to Des Moines’ population (212,086), by grade.
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 Des Moines. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Des Moines’ residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (212,933 in 2025); our figure for Des Moines is 212,086 (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 Des Moines
Is Des Moines, IA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Des Moines reports more crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #100 of 105 in Iowa. Its police reported 6.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.8 in the rest of Iowa and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Des Moines?
6.8 violent and 31.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Iowa reports 2.8 and 16.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Des Moines?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Des Moines in 2025?
Des Moines’s police reported 3 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 1.4 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Des Moines safer than West Des Moines?
West Des Moines reports less crime per resident than Des Moines: West Des Moines grades C+ for safety and Des Moines D. West Des Moines’s police reported 1.6 violent and 18.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Des Moines?
Des Moines’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Des Moines”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Des Moines.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
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.