What is the crime rate in Oelwein, IA?

In 2025, the Oelwein Police Department reported 17 violent crimes and 47 property crimes to the FBI.

That is 295 violent and 816 property crimes per 100,000 of the 5,759 residents it serves.

Across Iowa the rates were 238 and 1,205.

Nationally they were 330 and 1,552.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Violent per 100,000: 295
Property per 100,000: 816
Violent crimes: 17
Property crimes: 47

Crime reported by the Oelwein Police Department, 2023 to 2025

Offenses known to law enforcement, reported to the FBI; rates per 100,000 residents of the area the department serves
Year	Violent crimes	Violent per 100,000	Property crimes	Property per 100,000	Residents served
2023	17	293	36	621	5,798
2024	12	209	33	574	5,753
2025	17	295	47	816	5,759

Violent crimes reported went from 17 in 2023 to 17 in 2025.

Property crimes reported went from 36 in 2023 to 47 in 2025.

In a small town a handful of incidents moves these numbers a long way, so one year’s change says little on its own.

Oelwein against Iowa and the nation

Crimes per 100,000 residents, 2025
	Violent crime	Property crime
Oelwein	295	816
Iowa	238	1,205
United States	330	1,552

These are rates per resident; they are not adjusted for visitors, commuters or the size of the area, which raise or lower a town’s figures without changing anybody’s risk.

Crime reported in places near Oelwein, 2025

Each place’s own police department; rates per 100,000 residents served
Place	Distance	Violent per 100,000	Property per 100,000
Oelwein	—	295	816
Fairbank	7.2 mi	0	0
Independence	14 mi	127	887
Sumner	15 mi	98	49

Neighboring departments count the same offenses the same way, but their areas, populations and visitors differ, so a difference between two towns is a starting point for a question, not an answer.

How to read these numbers

These are offenses known to the police and reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program: crimes nobody reported, or that a department did not record, are not in them.

Violent crime is murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property crime is burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

A department reports the crimes in the area it polices, which can differ from the town’s boundaries, and the FBI estimates the population it serves.

The FBI asks that these figures not be used to rank places or to judge how safe a neighborhood is: crime depends on many local factors, and the counts describe a whole town, not any street or home.

A year is shown only when the department reported all twelve months.

FBI: Uniform Crime Reporting statistics and their proper use

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