Crime Rate in Des Moines, IA (2025)

Des Moines has a Crime Index of 47 out of 100 (grade D — elevated risk) for 2025, based on FBI-reported violent and property crime rates relative to other US cities. That ranks it #10 of 11 cities in Iowa by reported crime. Reported crime is not the same as actual crime. Research on the gap between crime that occurs and crime that gets reported to police — often called the "dark figure" of crime — estimates that roughly 40% of violent crime and about a third of property crime go unreported each year. Every index built on official statistics, including this one, necessarily undercounts real crime. That gap is exactly why homicide — the offense with the smallest dark figure — anchors the calculation instead of a more commonly reported but less reliable category like theft.

A "Elevated risk" grade means Des Moines's severity-weighted crime rate falls in the 45–59 range on the Crime Index, out of a national distribution of every city we track for 2025. Grades are calibrated against the national distribution of every area we track for the same data year — they describe an area's relative standing, not an absolute promise. A "Very safe" grade means an area sits among the lowest-crime places in the country with usable data, not that nothing ever happens there.

The most frequently reported offense in Des Moines for 2025 was larceny-theft, with 4,249 reported incidents. See the full breakdown by offense above for how violent and property crime compare to the US average.

Reported crime in Des Moines is down 9% since 2021, so the trend is improving. Year-to-year figures can shift with FBI reporting changes, not just real crime.

Based on 2025 reported rates, Des Moines residents face roughly a 1 in 156 annual chance of a violent crime and about 1 in 35 for a property crime, calculated city-wide. Your individual risk varies widely by neighborhood, time of day, and circumstances.

Des Moines is safer than 14% of the 759 US cities we track for 2025, ranked by Crime Index. Its violent-crime rate is 2.8× the Iowa average and its property-crime rate is 2.4× the Iowa average.

No. National research on the dark figure of crime estimates that roughly 40% of violent crime and about a third of property crime are never reported to police, so any index built on official statistics — including this one — measures a floor on real crime, not a ceiling. That's part of why the index leans most heavily on homicide, the category with the smallest reporting gap.