Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Iowa?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
To find the cities in Iowa with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 18 cities in the Hawkeye State with over 5,000 residents.
What city has the highest murder rate in Iowa? The city with the highest murder rate in Iowa is Perry with 25 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Iowa with highest number of murders? The city in Iowa with the highest number of murders is Des Moines with 9 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Iowa ranked. There were ‘only’ 18 cities in Iowa where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 59 places had no murder.
25 per 100k · #1 highest murder rate in Iowa
Located in
Dallas County, Iowa
Perry is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States, along the North Raccoon River. The population was 7,702 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
19 per 100k · #2 highest murder rate in Iowa
Located in
Plymouth County, Iowa
Le Mars is a city in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Iowa, United States. It is located on the Floyd River and northeast of Sioux City. The population was 9,826 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
18 per 100k · #3 highest murder rate in Iowa
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11 per 100k · #4 highest murder rate in Iowa
Located in
Lee County, Iowa
Keokuk is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is also the most southerly city in Iowa. The population was 10,780 at the 2010 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is thought to be buried in Rand Park. It is located in the extreme southeast corner of Iowa where the Des Moines River meets with the Mississippi. It is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 61, 136 and 218. Just across the rivers are the towns of Hamilton and Warsaw, Illinois, and Alexandria, Missouri.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9 per 100k · #5 highest murder rate in Iowa
Located in
Des Moines County, Iowa
Burlington is a city and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,663 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in the 2000 census. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington, Iowa, and Middletown, Iowa, and Gulfport, Illinois. Burlington is the home of Snake Alley, once labelled the crookedest alley in the world.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8 per 100k · #6 highest murder rate in Iowa
Located in
Scott County, Iowa
Davenport is the county seat of Scott County in Iowa and is located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. It is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population estimate of 382,630 and a CSA population of 474,226; it is the 90th largest CSA in the nation. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine Le Claire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel who was stationed at nearby Fort Armstrong during the Black Hawk War. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 99,685. The city appealed this figure, arguing that the Census Bureau missed a section of residents, and that its total population was more than 100,000. The Census Bureau estimated Davenport’s 2011 population to be 100,802.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8 per 100k · #7 highest murder rate in Iowa
Located in
Wapello County, Iowa
Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,023 at the 2010 census. Located in southeastern Iowa, the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
7 per 100k · #8 highest murder rate in Iowa
Located in
Marshall County, Iowa
Marshalltown is a city in, and the county seat of, Marshall County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,552 in the 2010 census, compared to 26,009 in 2000.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
5 per 100k · #9 highest murder rate in Iowa
Located in
Linn County, Iowa
Marion is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26,294 at the 2000 census and was 34,768 at the 2010 census, an increase of 32.2%. The city is located next to Cedar Rapids and part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
5 per 100k · #10 highest murder rate in Iowa
Located in
Black Hawk County, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406; the 2014 Census estimates the population at 68,364, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two cities.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Iowa’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Iowa’s murders happen
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Iowa
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.
We only looked at every single city in Iowa for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 18 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Perry. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Iowa. We updated the list for 2026.
The full plate
Murder Rates By City In Iowa
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perry | 8,022 | 2 | 25 |
| 2 | Le Mars | 10,624 | 2 | 19 |
| 3 | Osceola | 5,617 | 1 | 18 |
| 4 | Keokuk | 9,392 | 1 | 11 |
| 5 | Burlington | 23,444 | 2 | 9 |
| 6 | Davenport | 99,926 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | Ottumwa | 25,185 | 2 | 8 |
| 8 | Marshalltown | 27,576 | 2 | 7 |
| 9 | Marion | 42,420 | 2 | 5 |
| 10 | Waterloo | 66,385 | 3 | 5 |
| 11 | Des Moines | 209,245 | 9 | 4 |
| 12 | Fort Dodge | 24,502 | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | Johnston | 24,819 | 1 | 4 |
| 14 | Sioux City | 85,711 | 3 | 4 |
| 15 | Council Bluffs | 62,269 | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | Waukee | 34,520 | 1 | 3 |
| 17 | Dubuque | 58,620 | 1 | 2 |
| 18 | Cedar Rapids | 135,363 | 1 | 1 |
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. 18 Iowa cities that reported a murder.
Summary
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Iowa For 2026
If you’re looking at the places in Iowa with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in Iowa are Perry, Le Mars, Osceola, Keokuk, Burlington, Davenport, Ottumwa, Marshalltown, Marion, and Waterloo.
