Old Capitol · Photo: Billwhittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Iowa City records more violent crime per head than 74% of U.S. towns
Typical years here bring 3.1 violent crimes plus 17.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 3.2 plus 17.9 in the rest of Iowa State. On the record of crimes Iowa City’s police reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes C for safety: #82 of 105 graded towns in Iowa State. The graded rate fell 17% from 2023 to 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of IA” is every other Iowa State 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 Iowa City
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 1 Iowa State towns on Iowa City’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Coralville (C). Neighbors ↓
A college town
Iowa City is home to the University of Iowa, with 26,980 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 33% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
A job center
Iowa City has 53,770 jobs based in town for 76,229 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read 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 Iowa City’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. Its violent rate (3.1) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (17.2) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Iowa City property | Rest of Iowa State property | Iowa City violent | Rest of Iowa State violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 17.8 | 19.2 | 2.6 | 3.7 |
| 2023 | 19.0 | 20.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| 2024 | 16.7 | 17.9 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| 2025 | 16.0 | 15.8 | 2.6 | 3.0 |
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 State.
Crime in Iowa City 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 | Iowa City | Rest of Iowa State | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Iowa City’s police reported 707 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.1 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.2 in the rest of Iowa State and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
1,434 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.
197 violent and 1,237 property, as reported to the FBI by Iowa City’s police.
10 people died in crashes on Iowa City’s roads in 2019–2023
Iowa City had 9 fatal crashes in five years, in which 10 people died; 2 were pedestrians. 3 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 2.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, below the median for Iowa State towns of 25,000–100,000 people (3.8, 16 towns).
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.
Iowa City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa City | C | 3.1 | 17.2 |
| Coralville | C | 1.5 | 20.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Iowa State towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa City | C | 3.1 | 17.2 |
| Ankeny | B− | 1.5 | 10.8 |
| Ames | B− | 1.4 | 13.8 |
| West Des Moines | C+ | 1.6 | 18.1 |
| Waterloo | D | 5.1 | 23.6 |
| Sioux City | D | 5.4 | 32.2 |
The five graded Iowa State towns closest to Iowa City’s population (76,229), 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 Iowa City. 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 Iowa City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (77,166 in 2025); our figure for Iowa City is 76,229 (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 Iowa City
Is Iowa City, IA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Iowa City reports more crime per resident than 72% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #82 of 105 in Iowa State. Its police reported 3.1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.2 in the rest of Iowa State and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Iowa City?
3.1 violent and 17.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Iowa State reports 3.2 and 17.9; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Iowa City in 2025?
Iowa City’s police reported 2 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 2.6 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Iowa City safer than Coralville?
Coralville reports less crime per resident than Iowa City: Coralville grades C for safety and Iowa City C. Coralville’s police reported 1.5 violent and 20.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Iowa City?
Iowa City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Iowa City”. 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 Iowa City.
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.