Safety · Decorah
Decorah, IA crime & safety
Decorah's reported crime rate is well below Iowa's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 4 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
Crime reported to police, trends and how Decorah compares with the towns next door, from FBI data.
TownTapestry Safety GradeNew
A−
Decorah’s Safety Grade: A-
Decorah reports less crime per resident than 83% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade.
B+Violent crimeAProperty crime→Steady since 2023
All U.S. towns we grade (6,620)Safer than 83%
More reported crimeLess reported crime
Iowa towns we grade (123)Safer than 78%
Places of 5,000–25,000 people (2,890)Safer than 83%
Good confidence. Built on 101 incidents over 3 years. With counts this size, ordinary swings could put Decorah anywhere from A- to A.
How the Safety Grade works
- One score, from FBI data. Property crimes + 4 × violent crimes reported to police, per resident, pooled over the FBI’s latest 3 years (2023–2025). Violent crime counts four times as much because it matters more to how safe a place feels. It’s the same score behind our Safest towns in IA ranking.
- Graded on a national curve. Every U.S. town and city with 1,000+ residents that reported all 3 years (6,620 places) is lined up by score: A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Violent and property sub-grades use the same curve on each rate alone.
- Trend compares 2025 with 2023 and only says “improving” or “rising” when the change is bigger than normal year-to-year swings.
- Not graded: towns under 1,000 people, and towns missing any of the 3 years.
- What it can’t see: unreported crime, traffic safety, or which part of town incidents happen in. Towns with a campus, highway or big shopping center count incidents involving visitors. It’s our own summary of public data, not an official rating.
Reported crime, 2025
Decorah at a glance
Violent crime
0.5
per 1,000 residents · Iowa 2.4
Property crime
5
per 1,000 residents · Iowa 12
Incidents reported
41
4 violent · 37 property
Since 2022
▲ 285%
change in reported property crime
Violent crime per 1,000
Property crime per 1,000
Trend
Reported crime per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025
DecorahIowa
Solid lines: property crime · dashed: violent crime.
Show as a table
| Year | Decorah property | Iowa property | Decorah violent | Iowa violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.3 | 14.5 | 1.5 | 3 |
| 2023 | 2.7 | 14.9 | 1.7 | 2.8 |
| 2024 | 2.2 | 13.3 | 1.2 | 2.5 |
| 2025 | 5 | 12 | 0.5 | 2.4 |
What gets reported
2025, by type
Larceny / theft
34
Burglary
2
Vehicle theft
1
Aggravated assault
4
Robbery
0
Rape
0
Homicide
0
Arson
0
Offenses reported to police, not convictions.
Who keeps Decorah safe
Local public safety
👮 Decorah Police DepartmentReports its crime counts to the FBI — the figures on this page.
🚨 EmergenciesCall 911. For non-emergency numbers, alerts and preparedness, see the town guide.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can't tell you
- It's reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many thefts and some assaults are never reported.
- Small numbers swing. In a town of about 7,400, a handful of incidents moves the rate noticeably from year to year. The trend matters more than any one year.
- Visitors count too. Towns with a campus, highway, beach or shopping center see incidents involving people who don't live there, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn't report a full year, not that nothing happened.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. This isn't an official statement of public safety — in an emergency, call 911.