More violent crime is recorded per resident in Machesney Park than in 66% of U.S. towns
Among its 3 neighbors with figures, only one records less crime per resident. Machesney Park grades C+ for safety on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025: #246 of 339 graded towns in Illinois. Even so, in a usual year, 2.5 violent crimes and 14.7 incidents of property crime are logged per 1,000 inhabitants; in the rest of Illinois, 3.1 and 18.8. The graded rate fell 6% from 2023 to 2025.
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 Machesney Park
1 of the 3 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 6 Illinois towns on Machesney Park’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Roscoe (B+), Loves Park (C+), Rockford (D−). Harlem Township, Owen Township and Roscoe Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
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 Machesney Park’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; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (2.5) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (14.7) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Machesney Park | Rest of Illinois | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Machesney Park’s police reported 170 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.5 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.1 in the rest of Illinois and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Machesney Park property | Rest of Illinois property | Machesney Park violent | Rest of Illinois violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 10.7 | 20.5 | 2.4 | 3.7 |
| 2023 | 14.3 | 19.5 | 2.7 | 3.4 |
| 2024 | 15.4 | 19.8 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| 2025 | 14.4 | 17.1 | 1.6 | 2.7 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
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.
Crime in Machesney Park 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 2 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
365 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.
36 violent and 329 property, as reported to the FBI by Machesney Park’s police.
Seven people died in crashes on Machesney Park’s roads in 2019–2023
Machesney Park had 5 fatal crashes in five years, in which seven people died; 2 were pedestrians.
That is about what is typical for Illinois towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (6.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Machesney Park’s size would see about 8 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Machesney Park’s own rate (6.2) 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.
Machesney Park and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machesney Park | C+ | 2.5 | 14.7 |
| Loves Park | C+ | 3.2 | 12.2 |
| Harlem Township | — | — | — |
| Owen Township | — | — | — |
| Roscoe Township | — | — | — |
| Rockford | D− | 10.4 | 25.7 |
| Roscoe | B+ | 1.2 | 5.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Harlem Township, Owen Township and Roscoe Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Illinois towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machesney Park | C+ | 2.5 | 14.7 |
| Lisle | A | 0.6 | 4.7 |
| Darien | A− | 0.4 | 8.4 |
| Montgomery | B | 1.2 | 9.4 |
| Freeport | C+ | 2.9 | 12.5 |
| East Peoria | C− | 2.9 | 26.3 |
The five graded Illinois towns closest to Machesney Park’s population (22,805), 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 Machesney Park. 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 Machesney Park’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (22,816 in 2025); our figure for Machesney Park is 22,805 (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 Machesney Park
Is Machesney Park, IL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Machesney Park reports more crime per resident than 64% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #246 of 339 in Illinois. Its police reported 2.5 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 Machesney Park?
2.5 violent and 14.7 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 Machesney Park safer than Loves Park?
Loves Park reports more crime per resident than Machesney Park: Loves Park grades C+ for safety and Machesney Park C+. Loves Park’s police reported 3.2 violent and 12.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Machesney Park?
Machesney Park’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Machesney Park”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Machesney Park.
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.