USA Today reports that crime is on a surge in 25 cities. Three of the cities in the Top 25 are from Iowa including Waterloo.

Violent crime ranges from things like aggravated assault to murder. The FBI says that there were 386 violent crimes for every 100,000 people in the United States back in 2016. The reason for violent crime can vastly change from city to city, but it is really a local issue. The highest rated city for violent crimes per 100,000 was Monroe, Louisiana. Louisiana, California, and Iowa all had 3 three cities represented.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed FBI data for over 200 metropolitan cities nation wide and three Iowa cities had an increase of over 30% from 2011 to 2016.

In the top 25, here are the 3 Iowa cities:

24. Waterloo/Cedar Falls

  • 5 year violent crime rate change: +33.5%
  • 2011 violent crime rate: 331.4 per 100,000 (total: 559)
  • 2016 violent crime rate: 442.4 per 100,000 (total: 756)
  • December unemployment rate: 3.2%
  • Poverty rate: 14.6%

21. Des Moines-West Des Moines

  • 5 year violent crime rate change: +33.8%
  • 2011 violent crime rate: 277.7 per 100,000 (total: 1,590)
  • 2016 violent crime rate: 371.7 per 100,000 (total: 2,352)
  • December unemployment rate: 2.6%
  • Poverty rate: 9.5%

6. Dubuque

  • 5 year violent crime rate: +56.5%
  • 2011 violent crime rate: 155.1 per 100,000 (total: 146)
  • 2016 violent crime rate: 242.8 per 100,000 (total: 237)
  • December unemployment rate: 2.9%
  • Poverty rate: 10.6 %

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