Recorded crime per resident is lower in Cortland than in 76% of U.S. towns
Measured on crimes Cortland’s police reported between 2023 and 2025, it earns a Safety Grade of A−: #105 of 339 graded towns in Illinois. Per 1,000 residents a year, 0.9 violent crime and 6.2 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 3.1 and 18.8 in the rest of Illinois. What’s more, violent crime here is lower than in 72% of U.S. towns; property crime, lower than in 73%.
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 Cortland
Cortland reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 1 Illinois towns on Cortland’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: DeKalb (C−). Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Cortland’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 lower than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the stronger of the two.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Cortland | Rest of Illinois | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.4 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Cortland’s police reported 12 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.1 in the rest of Illinois and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Cortland per 1,000 residents
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.
And about 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Cortland property | Rest of Illinois property | Cortland violent | Rest of Illinois violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 7.3 | 20.5 | 0.0 | 3.7 |
| 2023 | 7.6 | 19.5 | 1.1 | 3.4 |
| 2024 | 4.6 | 19.8 | 0.4 | 3.2 |
| 2025 | 6.5 | 17.1 | 1.1 | 2.7 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Illinois.
35 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
5 violent and 30 property, as reported to the FBI by Cortland’s police.
No one died in a crash on Cortland’s roads in 2019–2023
That is about what is typical for Illinois towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (7.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Cortland’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Cortland’s own rate (0.0) is context, not a ranking.
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.
Cortland and its neighbors
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Illinois towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cortland | A− | 0.9 | 6.2 |
| Sherman | A | 0.4 | 3.1 |
| Kildeer | A− | 0.1 | 8.7 |
| Flora | B+ | 1.3 | 6.4 |
| Tuscola | B− | 3.1 | 6.1 |
| Hoopeston | C− | 4.1 | 17.2 |
The five graded Illinois towns closest to Cortland’s population (4,676), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
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 Cortland. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Cortland’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (4,642 in 2025); our figure for Cortland is 4,676 (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 Cortland
Is Cortland, IL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Cortland reports less crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns, an A− Safety Grade and #105 of 339 in Illinois. Its police reported 0.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.1 in the rest of Illinois and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Cortland?
0.9 violent and 6.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Illinois reports 3.1 and 18.8; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Cortland safer than DeKalb?
DeKalb reports more crime per resident than Cortland: DeKalb grades C− for safety and Cortland A−. DeKalb’s police reported 3.6 violent and 24.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Cortland?
Cortland’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Cortland”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Cortland.
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.