Safety · Urbandale
Urbandale, IA crime & safety
Urbandale's reported crime rate is well below Iowa's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 57 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
Crime reported to police, trends and how Urbandale compares with the towns next door, from FBI data.
TownTapestry Safety GradeNew
A−
Urbandale’s Safety Grade: A-
Urbandale reports less crime per resident than 75% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade.
B+Violent crimeA-Property crime▼Improving since 2023
All U.S. towns we grade (6,620)Safer than 75%
More reported crimeLess reported crime
Iowa towns we grade (123)Safer than 68%
Places of 25,000–100,000 people (1,259)Safer than 87%
Good confidence. Built on 1,037 incidents over 3 years. With counts this size, ordinary swings could put Urbandale anywhere from B+ 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
Urbandale at a glance
Violent crime
1.2
per 1,000 residents · Iowa 2.4
Property crime
5.1
per 1,000 residents · Iowa 12
Incidents reported
305
57 violent · 248 property
Since 2022
▼ 26%
change in reported property crime
Violent crime per 1,000
Property crime per 1,000
Trend
Reported crime per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025
UrbandaleIowa
Solid lines: property crime · dashed: violent crime.
Show as a table
| Year | Urbandale property | Iowa property | Urbandale violent | Iowa violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.9 | 14.5 | 1.1 | 3 |
| 2023 | 7 | 14.9 | 1.3 | 2.8 |
| 2024 | 6.3 | 13.3 | 0.9 | 2.5 |
| 2025 | 5.1 | 12 | 1.2 | 2.4 |
What gets reported
2025, by type
Larceny / theft
180
Burglary
27
Vehicle theft
41
Aggravated assault
43
Robbery
6
Rape
8
Homicide
0
Arson
1
Offenses reported to police, not convictions.
Who keeps Urbandale safe
Local public safety
👮 Urbandale 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.
Nearby
Urbandale and its neighbors
Reported crime per 1,000 residents in each town's latest year. * = a count, for towns under 1,000 people. Grade: the Safety Grade; — = not graded.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urbandale | A- | 1.2 | 5.1 | 2025 |
| Johnston | A- | 0.8 | 6.7 | 2025 |
| Des Moines | D | 6.4 | 28.1 | 2025 |
| Clive | B- | 0.8 | 9.8 | 2025 |
No town figures in the FBI's data: Grimes.
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 48,300, 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.
Natural hazards
Low
Natural hazards in Urbandale →Mostly inland flooding. Expected storm and flood damage here is higher than in 29% of U.S. communities. 15 flood insurance claims paid since 1978.
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.