West Des Moines, IA Crime Statistics For 2025

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

Crime Rate In West Des Moines, IA Summary

Crime in West Des Moines research summary. HomeSnacks has been using Saturday Night Science to report crime data in West Des Moines 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 West Des Moines:

  • There were 1,378 total crimes committed in West Des Moines in the last reporting year.
  • On a rate basis, there were 1,879.0 total crimes per 100K people in West Des Moines.
  • The overall crime rate in West Des Moines is -11.33% below the national average.
  • West Des Moines ranks #119 safest out of 150 cities in Iowa.
  • West Des Moines ranks #6,972 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

West Des Moines Vs Iowa And National Crime Rates

According to the most recent data from the FBI, the total crime rate in West Des Moines is 1,879.0 per 100,000 people. That's -11.33% lower than the national rate of 2,119.2 per 100,000 people and 22.02% higher than the Iowa total crime rate of 1,540.0 per 100,000 people.

Statistic Count
Raw
West Des Moines
/ 100k People
Iowa
/ 100k People
National
/ 100k People
Total Crimes Per 100K 1,378 1,879.0 1,540.0 2,119.2
Murder 0 0.0 2.1 5.0
Robbery 9 12.3 18.7 61.0
Aggravated Assault 96 130.9 187.2 256.0
Violent Crime 121 165.0 243.3 359.0
Burglary 84 114.5 199.1 229.0
Larceny 1,079 1,471.3 962.6 1,272.0
Car Theft 94 128.2 135.1 259.0
Property Crime 1,257 1,714.1 1,296.8 1,760.0

West Des Moines 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 West Des Moines

121
Violent Crimes
165.0
Violent Crimes / 100k People
-54.04%
Below The National Average
  • There were 121 violent crimes in West Des Moines in the last reporting year.
  • The violent crime rate in West Des Moines is 165.0 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 606.1 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in West Des Moines each year. That compares to a 1 in 411.1 chance statewide.
  • That's -54.04% lower than the national rate of 359.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And -32.17% lower than the Iowa violent crime rate of 243.3 per 100,000 people.

Property Crime Rates In West Des Moines

1,257
Property Crimes
1,714.1
Property Crimes / 100k People
-2.61%
Below The National Average
  • There were 1,257 property crimes in West Des Moines in the last reporting year.
  • The property crime rate in West Des Moines is 1,714.1 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 58.3 chance of being the victim of a property crime in West Des Moines each year. That compares to a 1 in 0.0 chance nationally.
  • That's -2.61% lower than the national rate of 1,760.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And 32.18% higher than the Iowa property crime rate of 1,296.8 per 100,000 people.

Crime In Cities Around West Des Moines

City Population Count
Raw
Total Crime
/ 100k People
Property Crime
/ 100k People
Violent Crime
/ 100k People
Des Moines, IA 209,245 8,013 3,829.5 3,126.5 703.0
Ankeny, IA 76,547 909 1,187.5 1,021.6 165.9
Urbandale, IA 47,119 341 723.7 634.6 89.1
Waukee, IA 34,520 270 782.2 640.2 141.9
Johnston, IA 24,819 205 826.0 749.4 76.6
Altoona, IA 22,422 483 2,154.1 2,011.4 142.7
Clive, IA 19,124 263 1,375.2 1,166.1 209.2
Indianola, IA 16,104 281 1,744.9 1,471.7 273.2
Norwalk, IA 15,588 45 288.7 179.6 109.1
Pleasant Hill, IA 10,153 232 2,285.0 2,097.9 187.1

West Des Moines SnackAbility

9
/10
Overall SnackAbility
Jobs
8.5/10
Housing
8
Affordability
8
Diversity
8
Safety
8
Amenities
8.5
Education
9.5
Commute
9
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