Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0More violent crime is recorded per resident in Melrose Park than in 69% of U.S. towns
Out of every 1,000 residents, 2.7 violent crimes and 15.3 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 3.1 and 18.8 in the rest of Illinois. On crimes Melrose Park’s police reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades C for safety: #252 of 339 graded towns in Illinois. Its 6 neighbors with figures all record less crime per resident.
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 Melrose Park
6 of the 6 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Illinois towns on Melrose Park’s borders, 6 have a Safety Grade: Stone Park (A), Franklin Park (B−), River Grove (B−), Northlake (B−), River Forest (C+), Bellwood (C+). Maywood and Proviso Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
A job center
Melrose Park has 19,466 jobs based in town for 23,936 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Melrose 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 (2.7) 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 (15.3) 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 | Melrose Park | Rest of Illinois | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Melrose Park’s police reported 191 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.7 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 Melrose 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.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Melrose Park property | Rest of Illinois property | Melrose Park violent | Rest of Illinois violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 17.1 | 20.5 | 2.9 | 3.7 |
| 2023 | 14.8 | 19.5 | 2.7 | 3.4 |
| 2024 | 17.7 | 19.8 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| 2025 | 13.6 | 17.1 | 2.4 | 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.
380 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. 2025 figures come from FBI Crime Data Explorer, which publishes violent crime, homicides, robberies and property crime only.
57 violent and 323 property, as reported to the FBI by Melrose Park’s police.
13 people died in crashes on Melrose Park’s roads in 2019–2023
Melrose Park had 13 fatal crashes in five years, in which 13 people died; 5 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist.
That is 10.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Illinois towns of 5,000–25,000 people (6.8, 412 towns).
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.
Melrose Park and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melrose Park | C | 2.7 | 15.3 |
| Stone Park | A | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| Northlake | B− | 1.6 | 13.3 |
| Franklin Park | B− | 1.5 | 12.5 |
| River Grove | B− | 1.3 | 13.4 |
| Maywood | — | — | — |
| Bellwood | C+ | 2.8 | 12.8 |
| Proviso Township | — | — | — |
| River Forest | C+ | 0.9 | 18.2 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Maywood and Proviso Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Illinois towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melrose Park | C | 2.7 | 15.3 |
| Westmont | B | 0.8 | 10.3 |
| Elmwood Park | B | 1.3 | 11.2 |
| Rolling Meadows | B− | 0.9 | 13.9 |
| Collinsville | C+ | 2.2 | 15.4 |
| Loves Park | C+ | 3.2 | 12.2 |
The five graded Illinois towns closest to Melrose Park’s population (23,936), 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 Melrose 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 Melrose Park’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (23,827 in 2025); our figure for Melrose Park is 23,936 (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 Melrose Park
Is Melrose Park, IL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Melrose Park reports more crime per resident than 66% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #252 of 339 in Illinois. Its police reported 2.7 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 Melrose Park?
2.7 violent and 15.3 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 Melrose Park safer than Stone Park?
Stone Park reports less crime per resident than Melrose Park: Stone Park grades A for safety and Melrose Park C. Stone Park’s police reported 0.8 violent and 1.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Melrose Park?
Melrose Park’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Melrose Park Police Department”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Melrose 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.