Crime in Clear Lake, Iowa

Clear Lake's crime rate

There were 163 crimes reported in Clear Lake, Iowa in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 2,158 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Clear Lake compare?

Clear Lake has a lower overall crime rate than the country as a whole. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Clear Lake's overall crime rate is 8% higher than the overall crime rate in Iowa. Statewide, there were 63,109 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,000 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Clear Lake, however, property crimes account for only about 81% of all offenses.

Property crime is less prevalent in Clear Lake than it is nationwide. There were 132 property crimes in Clear Lake in 2019, or 1,747 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Clear Lake. There were 100 larcenies reported in Clear Lake in 2019, or 1,324 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 29 break-ins reported in Clear Lake in 2019, or 384 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Clear Lake, meanwhile, there were 3 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 40 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Clear Lake, however, violent offenses account for a larger 19% share of all reported crime.

At 410 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Clear Lake is above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Clear Lake reported a total of 31 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Clear Lake. There were 31 aggravated assaults reported in Clear Lake in 2019, or 410 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America, but there were no robberies reported in Clear Lake in 2019. The national robbery rate was 86 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 139,815 reported rapes nationwide in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people. In Clear Lake in 2019, none were reported.

Murder

While there were 16,425 murders nationwide in 2019, none were reported in Clear Lake.

Clear Lake compared to other cities in Iowa

Clear Lake has a higher crime rate than the majority of all comparable cities in Iowa. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.