Is Des Moines, IA Safe?
Des Moines, IA has a Safety Score of 79/100 (grade B). Violent crime is 43% below the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
Safety Context Score: 79/100 (Grade B)
CrimeContext scores Des Moines on a 0-100 scale that weights per-capita violent crime against the national average (40%), per-capita property crime (30%), and the 5-year direction of total crime (30%). A grade of B means Des Moines sits better than the typical U.S. city once population is taken into account. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
We never display raw crime counts. A large city will always log more total incidents than a small town; the only fair comparison is the rate per 100,000 residents, which is what every number on this page uses.
Des Moines Crime Rates per 100,000 vs National Average
| Crime Type | Des Moines | National Avg | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 208.2 | 363.8 | -43% |
| Property Crime | 1404.5 | 1832.3 | -23% |
| Murder | 2.1 | 5.7 | -63% |
| Robbery | 37.5 | 73.0 | -49% |
| Aggravated Assault | 120.8 | 246.4 | -51% |
| Burglary | 210.7 | 269.8 | -22% |
| Larceny-Theft | 955.1 | 1401.9 | -32% |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 154.5 | 318.3 | -51% |
| 5-Year Trend | -12.0% | ||
| Population | 214,133 | ||
All values are incidents per 100,000 residents (FBI UCR/NIBRS). Per-capita rates only — never raw counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Des Moines, IA has a Safety Score of 79/100 (grade B). Violent crime is 43% below the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
Des Moines, IA has a violent crime rate of 208.2 per 100,000 residents (43% below the U.S. average of 363.8) and a property crime rate of 1404.5 per 100,000 (23% below the U.S. average of 1832.3). All figures are per-capita rates, never raw counts.
Des Moines has a murder rate of 2.1 per 100,000 residents, compared with the national average of 5.7. Like every figure here, this is a per-capita rate — raw homicide counts without population context can badly mislead.
Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years. Over the past 5 years, the total crime rate in Des Moines has changed by -12.0%.
Violent crime in Des Moines is 43% below the U.S. average and property crime is 23% below average. Des Moines's overall Safety Context Score is 79/100 (grade B).
More about Des Moines
Des Moines, IA has a Safety Score of 79/100 (grade B). Violent crime is 43% below the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
This answer pulls from the FBI UCR/NIBRS dataset, the authoritative federal source for U.S. city and county crime rates. The headline number above is the direct answer; what follows is the additional context most readers need to use the answer for a real decision rather than just a fact lookup.
For readers turning this answer into action: cross-reference against the underlying the FBI UCR/NIBRS dataset record before acting on time-sensitive decisions. The site renders the data as it was published; subsequent revisions can shift the picture, and the live federal data is always the authoritative current reference.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2026.