Photo: File:Chicago River ferry.jpg: John Picken derivative work: Georgfotoart · CC BY 2.0Chicago reports more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Chicago’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D for safety: #324 of 339 graded towns in Illinois, and #231 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of IL” is every other Illinois city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Chicago
Chicago reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 8 Illinois towns on Chicago’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Rosemont (D−). Leyden Township, Maine Township, Worth Township, Schiller Park, Niles Township, Calumet Township and Stickney Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Chicago’s police reported 346 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 16.4 per 100,000 residents a year, 5.8 times the rest of Illinois (2.8) and 2.9 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 10.3 times the rest of Illinois
318 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (5,672 reported in 2025), 10.3 times the rest of Illinois (30.9) and 4.0 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Chicago reports less crime per resident than 29% (#231). Places like it ↓
Compared with the rest of Illinois
Chicago is home to 22% of Illinois’ residents, so this page compares it with the rest of the state rather than a state total that includes the city itself. Violent crime ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Chicago’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Homicides and robberies
Chicago’s police reported 346 homicides, 5,672 robberies and 11,417 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Illinois and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Chicago | Rest of Illinois | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 22.8 | 4.2 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 19.0 | 3.5 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 17.5 | 2.9 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 12.7 | 2.2 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Chicago | Rest of Illinois | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 337 | 40.6 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 412 | 36.1 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 335 | 32.4 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 209 | 24.3 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Reported crime is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Illinois.
Show as a table
| Year | Chicago property | Rest of Illinois property | Chicago violent | Rest of Illinois violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 31.3 | 15.0 | 5.4 | 2.9 |
| 2023 | 34.3 | 14.0 | 6.1 | 2.4 |
| 2024 | 34.7 | 14.4 | 5.4 | 2.4 |
| 2025 | 29.4 | 12.5 | 4.2 | 2.2 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 29 property crimes reported
And about 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
91,318 crimes reported in 2025
11,417 violent and 79,901 property, as reported to the FBI by Chicago’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
274 of the 916 people who died in crashes on Chicago’s roads in 2019–2023 were pedestrians
Chicago had 853 fatal crashes in five years, in which 916 people died. 41 of those killed were cyclists. 164 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 6.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for Illinois towns of 100,000+ people (6.1, 28 towns).
Among the 39 U.S. cities of 500,000 or more, Chicago has the 7th lowest rate.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Chicago and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | D | 5.2 | 32.8 |
| Leyden Township | — | — | — |
| Maine Township | — | — | — |
| Rosemont | D− | 4.6 | 57.8 |
| Worth Township | — | — | — |
| Schiller Park | — | — | — |
| Niles Township | — | — | — |
| Calumet Township | — | — | — |
| Stickney Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Leyden Township, Maine Township, Worth Township, Schiller Park, Niles Township, Calumet Township and Stickney Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
U.S. cities of a million or more
| City | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | D | 5.2 | 32.8 |
| New York City | D | 6.7 | 23.5 |
| Los Angeles | D | 7.4 | 21.9 |
| Houston | D− | 10.4 | 42.0 |
| Phoenix | D | 7.6 | 22.8 |
| Philadelphia | D− | 9.0 | 46.4 |
| San Antonio | D− | 6.0 | 46.3 |
| San Diego | C− | 4.0 | 16.7 |
| Dallas | D | 6.3 | 34.7 |
| Fort Worth | D | 4.4 | 25.1 |
| Austin | D | 4.6 | 32.0 |
Every U.S. city of 1,000,000+ with a Safety Grade, largest first; each city’s own police figures, 2023–2025.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Chicago. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Chicago’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (2,715,488 in 2025); our figure for Chicago is 2,731,585 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Chicago
Is Chicago, IL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Chicago reports more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #324 of 339 in Illinois. Its police reported 5.2 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.3 in the rest of Illinois and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Chicago?
5.2 violent and 32.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Illinois reports 2.3 and 13.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Chicago?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Chicago in 2025?
Chicago’s police reported 346 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 12.7 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Chicago safer than Rosemont?
Rosemont reports more crime per resident than Chicago: Rosemont grades D− for safety and Chicago D. Rosemont’s police reported 4.6 violent and 57.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Chicago?
Chicago’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Chicago”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Chicago.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: 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. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.