Des Moines, WA Crime Statistics For 2025

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

Crime Rate In Des Moines, WA Summary

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

  • There were 997 total crimes committed in Des Moines in the last reporting year.
  • On a rate basis, there were 3,145.7 total crimes per 100K people in Des Moines.
  • The overall crime rate in Des Moines is 48.44% above the national average.
  • Des Moines ranks #130 safest out of 171 cities in Washington.
  • Des Moines ranks #8,716 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 Washington

Des Moines Vs Washington And National Crime Rates

According to the most recent data from the FBI, the total crime rate in Des Moines is 3,145.7 per 100,000 people. That's 48.44% higher than the national rate of 2,119.2 per 100,000 people and 12.65% higher than the Washington total crime rate of 2,792.6 per 100,000 people.

Statistic Count
Raw
Des Moines
/ 100k People
Washington
/ 100k People
National
/ 100k People
Total Crimes Per 100K 997 3,145.7 2,792.6 2,119.2
Murder 1 3.2 3.8 5.0
Robbery 33 104.1 67.5 61.0
Aggravated Assault 51 160.9 217.0 256.0
Violent Crime 94 296.6 326.1 359.0
Burglary 68 214.6 398.8 229.0
Larceny 611 1,927.8 1,634.2 1,272.0
Car Theft 224 706.8 433.5 259.0
Property Crime 903 2,849.1 2,466.5 1,760.0

Des Moines Crime Compared To Washington Averages

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

Violent Crime Rates In Des Moines

94
Violent Crimes
296.6
Violent Crimes / 100k People
-17.39%
Below The National Average
  • There were 94 violent crimes in Des Moines in the last reporting year.
  • The violent crime rate in Des Moines is 296.6 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 337.2 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Des Moines each year. That compares to a 1 in 306.7 chance statewide.
  • That's -17.39% lower than the national rate of 359.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And -9.04% lower than the Washington violent crime rate of 326.1 per 100,000 people.

Property Crime Rates In Des Moines

903
Property Crimes
2,849.1
Property Crimes / 100k People
61.88%
Above The National Average
  • There were 903 property crimes in Des Moines in the last reporting year.
  • The property crime rate in Des Moines is 2,849.1 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 35.1 chance of being the victim of a property crime in Des Moines each year. That compares to a 1 in 0.0 chance nationally.
  • That's 61.88% higher than the national rate of 1,760.0 per 100,000 people.
  • And 15.51% higher than the Washington property crime rate of 2,466.5 per 100,000 people.

Crime In Cities Around Des Moines

City Population Count
Raw
Total Crime
/ 100k People
Property Crime
/ 100k People
Violent Crime
/ 100k People
Tacoma, WA 223,980 14,932 6,666.7 5,603.6 1,063.0
Kent, WA 132,324 5,638 4,260.8 3,771.0 489.7
Federal Way, WA 96,631 4,752 4,917.7 4,372.3 545.4
Auburn, WA 82,838 3,737 4,511.2 3,968.0 543.2
Lakewood, WA 61,873 2,642 4,270.0 3,621.9 648.1
Burien, WA 50,318 1,922 3,819.7 3,394.4 425.3
SeaTac, WA 31,950 1,391 4,353.7 3,943.7 410.0
Tukwila, WA 20,933 3,385 16,170.6 15,243.9 926.8
Port Orchard, WA 18,806 618 3,286.2 2,898.0 388.2
Gig Harbor, WA 12,785 405 3,167.8 2,964.4 203.4

Des Moines SnackAbility

7
/10
Overall SnackAbility
Jobs
7/10
Housing
9
Affordability
4
Diversity
10
Safety
4
Amenities
9.5
Education
7
Commute
5
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