Property crime per resident is higher in Des Moines than in 89% of U.S. towns
Per resident, the graded crimes were down 36% from 2023 to 2025. Even so, its Safety Grade is C−, on crimes Des Moines’ police reported from 2023 to 2025: #93 of 130 graded towns in Washington. One of the 5 towns next door with figures records less crime per resident. Typical years here bring 2.8 violent crimes plus 28.6 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 4.0 plus 32.1 in the rest of Washington.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of WA” is every other Washington 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
1 of the 5 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 5 Washington towns on Des Moines’ borders, 5 have a Safety Grade: Normandy Park (B−), Burien (D), SeaTac (D), Kent (D), Federal Way (D). Neighbors ↓
Among Washington towns, closer to the middle
Washington’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Des Moines’ place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 28% of the 130 Washington towns we grade, against 16% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
Des Moines is home to Highline College, with 3,517 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 5% 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 ↓
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; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (2.8) 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.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Des Moines property | Rest of Washington property | Des Moines violent | Rest of Washington violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 34.9 | 43.7 | 3.0 | 4.8 |
| 2023 | 35.2 | 37.6 | 3.1 | 4.5 |
| 2024 | 28.5 | 32.9 | 3.0 | 4.1 |
| 2025 | 22.2 | 25.8 | 2.3 | 3.6 |
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 Washington.
Crime in Des Moines 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 2 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 | Des Moines | Rest of Washington | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Des Moines’ police reported 272 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.8 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.0 in the rest of Washington and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
817 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.
77 violent and 740 property, as reported to the FBI by Des Moines’ police.
13 people died in crashes on Des Moines’s roads in 2019–2023
Des Moines had 12 fatal crashes in five years, in which 13 people died; 5 were pedestrians.
That is 7.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Washington towns of 25,000–100,000 people (5.0, 43 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.
Des Moines and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | C− | 2.8 | 28.6 |
| Federal Way | D | 5.1 | 41.3 |
| Kent | D | 4.4 | 36.4 |
| SeaTac | D | 3.7 | 36.0 |
| Normandy Park | B− | 1.0 | 12.7 |
| Burien | D | 4.0 | 32.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Washington towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | C− | 2.8 | 28.6 |
| Pullman | B | 1.6 | 8.6 |
| Mount Vernon | C+ | 1.7 | 17.7 |
| University Place | C | 2.4 | 20.3 |
| Walla Walla | C− | 3.4 | 20.7 |
| Wenatchee | C− | 2.7 | 24.9 |
The five graded Washington towns closest to Des Moines’ population (33,032), 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 Des Moines. 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 Des Moines’ residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (33,288 in 2025); our figure for Des Moines is 33,032 (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, WA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Des Moines reports more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #93 of 130 in Washington. Its police reported 2.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.0 in the rest of Washington and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Des Moines?
2.8 violent and 28.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Washington reports 4.0 and 32.1; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Des Moines in 2025?
Des Moines’s police reported 0 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.0 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 Federal Way?
Federal Way reports more crime per resident than Des Moines: Federal Way grades D for safety and Des Moines C−. Federal Way’s police reported 5.1 violent and 41.3 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
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 Des Moines.
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.