Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Waterloo

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
J. C. Robinson HouseJ. C. Robinson House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0
Safety in Waterloo · Not graded

Safety in Waterloo, NE: what is reported

Widen the search to 25 miles and 7 graded towns turn up. Of the graded towns, Valley is the closest, at A. Waterloo’s police department covers under 1,000 people in the FBI’s count, so the page shows its counts, not rates, and there is no Safety Grade.

Violent crimes
0
reported to the FBI, 2025
Property crimes
3
reported to the FBI, 2025
Nearest graded town
5 mi
Valley (A)
Reported crime, 2025

3 crimes reported in 2025

0
violent crimes reported
3
property crimes reported

In a town this small, a few incidents move the numbers a lot, so we show counts rather than rates.

What gets reported

Every offense type reported in 2025

2025 offenses reported

Larceny / theft2
Burglary1
Vehicle theft0
Aggravated assault0
Robbery0
Rape0
Homicide0
Arson0
0
violent crimes
3
property crimes

Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.

0 violent and 3 property, as reported to the FBI by Waterloo’s police.

Nearest with figures

The nearest Nebraska towns with a Safety Grade

TownGradeDistanceViolentProperty
ValleyA5 mi0.23.2
La VistaB14 mi0.612.8
RalstonB−14 mi1.513.9
PapillionB+15 mi0.49.6
WahooA−18 mi0.64.7
BlairB+19 mi1.17.7

Straight-line distance from the center of Waterloo. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Waterloo.

Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.

On the roads

No one died in a crash on Waterloo’s roads in 2019–2023

That is about what is typical for Nebraska towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (0.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Waterloo’s size would see about 0 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Waterloo’s own rate (0.0) is context, not a ranking.

0
people died in crashes, 2019–2023
0
pedestrians among them
0
cyclists among them
0.0
per 100,000 a year · Nebraska towns of 2,500–5,000: 0.0

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.

Next door

Waterloo and its neighbors

Waterloo
A rangeB rangeC rangeD rangeNot graded
TownGradeViolentProperty

Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.

How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.

How to read these numbers

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 Waterloo. 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 Waterloo’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
  • Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (919 in 2025); our figure for Waterloo is 917 (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 Waterloo

Is Waterloo, NE safe?

There is no Safety Grade for Waterloo. The nearest Nebraska towns with a grade are Valley (A, 5 mi), La Vista (B, 14 mi), Ralston (B−, 14 mi).

Who polices Waterloo?

Waterloo’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Waterloo”. Its figures are the ones on this page.

Heads-up board

Town Square →
Weigh in
Does Waterloo feel safe walking around at night?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Post a heads-up

Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.

Neighbors looking out for each other in Waterloo.

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.