Most Dangerous Cities in Iowa (2024)
The 25 most dangerous cities in Iowa ranked by violent crime rate per 100,000 residents, based on 2024 FBI data.Iowa has 160 cities reporting crime data.
Key Insights
- →Fort Dodge has the highest violent crime rate in Iowa at 1061.1 per 100K — 3.0x the national average.
- →11 of the top 25 most dangerous cities in Iowa exceed the national average violent crime rate of 359.1/100K.
- →The top 3 — Fort Dodge, Des Moines, Davenport — account for a combined 2,312 violent crimes.
- →Iowa's statewide violent crime rate is 243.3/100K, 32% below the national average.
1061.1
Highest Rate
243.3
State Average
359.1
National Average
11
Above National Avg
Top 25 Most Dangerous Cities in Iowa
Ranked by violent crime rate per 100,000 residents. Only cities with 10,000+ residents are included to avoid statistical distortion from tiny populations.
| # | City | Population | Violent Rate | Murder Rate | Property Rate | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Dodge | 24,502 | 1061.1 | 4.1 | 3195.7 | F |
| 2 | Des Moines | 209,245 | 703.0 | 4.3 | 3126.5 | F |
| 3 | Davenport | 99,926 | 581.4 | 8.0 | 3540.6 | F |
| 4 | Sioux City | 85,711 | 555.4 | 3.5 | 3324.0 | F |
| 5 | Waterloo | 66,385 | 476.0 | 4.5 | 2444.8 | F |
| 6 | Council Bluffs | 62,269 | 420.8 | 3.2 | 2452.3 | F |
| 7 | Burlington | 23,444 | 413.8 | 8.5 | 1825.6 | F |
| 8 | Dubuque | 58,620 | 400.9 | 1.7 | 1434.7 | F |
| 9 | Ottumwa | 25,185 | 397.1 | 7.9 | 2616.6 | F |
| 10 | Newton | 15,611 | 384.3 | 0.0 | 1390.0 | F |
| 11 | Clinton | 24,171 | 359.9 | 0.0 | 2726.4 | D |
| 12 | Iowa City | 75,934 | 321.3 | 0.0 | 1673.8 | D |
| 13 | Marshalltown | 27,576 | 297.4 | 7.3 | 1773.3 | D |
| 14 | Storm Lake | 11,494 | 287.1 | 0.0 | 1679.1 | D |
| 15 | Indianola | 16,104 | 273.2 | 0.0 | 1471.7 | D |
| 16 | Cedar Rapids | 135,363 | 261.5 | 0.7 | 2689.1 | D+ |
| 17 | Muscatine | 23,208 | 245.6 | 0.0 | 1228.0 | D+ |
| 18 | Mason City | 26,786 | 224.0 | 0.0 | 2322.1 | D+ |
| 19 | Clive | 19,124 | 209.2 | 0.0 | 1166.1 | D+ |
| 20 | Cedar Falls | 40,321 | 198.4 | 0.0 | 1860.1 | D+ |
| 21 | Pleasant Hill | 10,153 | 187.1 | 0.0 | 2097.9 | C |
| 22 | Ankeny | 76,547 | 165.9 | 0.0 | 1021.6 | C |
| 23 | West Des Moines | 73,335 | 165.0 | 0.0 | 1714.1 | C |
| 24 | Ames | 65,426 | 148.3 | 0.0 | 1505.5 | C |
| 25 | Altoona | 22,422 | 142.7 | 0.0 | 2011.4 | C+ |
Understanding the Data
Violent crime includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault as defined by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Rates are per 100,000 residents and based on the latest 2024 data.
Why population matters: Cities under 10,000 are excluded from this ranking because a single incident can produce an extremely high per-capita rate. A city of 500 with one murder has a "murder rate" of 200/100K — statistically meaningless.
Not all crime is reported. FBI data only captures crimes reported to police. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates only ~40% of violent crimes are reported. See our hidden crime estimates →