Waterloo, IA Crime Statistics For 2025

Demographics | Crime | Cost Of Living
Updated: 2025-10-24

Crime Rate In Waterloo, IA Summary

Crime in Waterloo research summary. HomeSnacks has been using Saturday Night Science to report crime data in Waterloo over the past eight years using the FBI Crime Explorer. Based on the most recently available data released on October 17, 2023, we found the following about crime in Waterloo:

  • There were 1,939 total crimes committed in Waterloo in the last reporting year.
  • On a rate basis, there were 2,920.8 total crimes per 100K people in Waterloo.
  • The overall crime rate in Waterloo is 37.83% above the national average.
  • Waterloo ranks #138 safest out of 150 cities in Iowa.
  • Waterloo ranks #8,515 safest out of 9,896 cities in the United States.

Because the crime rate is so low in America, we use "per 100,000 people" to make the number a bit easier to compare across locations visually. It's mathematically the same as per capita comparisons and isn't meant to convey that 100,000+ people live in a location.

Additional research about crime in Iowa

Waterloo Vs Iowa And National Crime Rates

According to the most recent data from the FBI, the total crime rate in Waterloo is 2,920.8 per 100,000 people. That's 37.83% higher than the national rate of 2,119.2 per 100,000 people and 89.66% higher than the Iowa total crime rate of 1,540.0 per 100,000 people.

Statistic Count
Raw
Waterloo
/ 100k People
Iowa
/ 100k People
National
/ 100k People
Total Crimes Per 100K 1,939 2,920.8 1,540.0 2,119.2
Murder 3 4.5 2.1 5.0
Robbery 23 34.6 18.7 61.0
Aggravated Assault 264 397.7 187.2 256.0
Violent Crime 316 476.0 243.3 359.0
Burglary 389 586.0 199.1 229.0
Larceny 1,101 1,658.5 962.6 1,272.0
Car Theft 133 200.3 135.1 259.0
Property Crime 1,623 2,444.8 1,296.8 1,760.0

Waterloo Crime Compared To Iowa Averages

Each category of crime indexed to the worst per capita in Iowa.
Data Source -- FBI UCR 2024.

Violent Crime Rates In Waterloo

316
Violent Crimes
476.0
Violent Crimes / 100k People
32.59%
Above The National Average
  • There were 316 violent crimes in Waterloo in the last reporting year.
  • The violent crime rate in Waterloo is 476.0 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 210.1 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Waterloo each year. That compares to a 1 in 411.1 chance statewide.
  • That's 32.59% higher than the national rate of 359.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And 95.69% higher than the Iowa violent crime rate of 243.3 per 100,000 people.

Property Crime Rates In Waterloo

1,623
Property Crimes
2,444.8
Property Crimes / 100k People
38.91%
Above The National Average
  • There were 1,623 property crimes in Waterloo in the last reporting year.
  • The property crime rate in Waterloo is 2,444.8 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 40.9 chance of being the victim of a property crime in Waterloo each year. That compares to a 1 in 0.0 chance nationally.
  • That's 38.91% higher than the national rate of 1,760.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And 88.54% higher than the Iowa property crime rate of 1,296.8 per 100,000 people.

Crime In Cities Around Waterloo

City Population Count
Raw
Total Crime
/ 100k People
Property Crime
/ 100k People
Violent Crime
/ 100k People
Marion, IA 42,420 263 620.0 497.4 122.6
Cedar Falls, IA 40,321 830 2,058.5 1,860.1 198.4
Marshalltown, IA 27,576 571 2,070.6 1,773.3 297.4
Waverly, IA 10,611 109 1,027.2 885.9 141.4
Hiawatha, IA 7,230 97 1,341.6 982.0 359.6
Independence, IA 6,221 51 819.8 659.1 160.7
Manchester, IA 5,295 66 1,246.5 1,114.3 132.2
Iowa Falls, IA 4,974 88 1,769.2 1,568.2 201.0
Vinton, IA 4,960 21 423.4 362.9 60.5
Evansdale, IA 4,468 93 2,081.5 1,947.2 134.3

Waterloo SnackAbility

5
/10
Overall SnackAbility
Jobs
5/10
Housing
6
Affordability
8
Diversity
8.5
Safety
4
Amenities
8.5
Education
8
Commute
9.5
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