Photo: Jefe317 · CC BY-SA 3.0On property crime, North Chicago has a lower rate per resident than 73% of U.S. towns
Overall, North Chicago grades B for safety (#170 of 339 graded towns in Illinois): less crime per resident than 64% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Out of every 1,000 residents, 1.8 violent crimes and 6.3 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 3.1 and 18.8 in the rest of Illinois. The rate the grade counts held about level 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 North Chicago
1 of the 2 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 4 Illinois towns on North Chicago’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Lake Bluff (B+), Waukegan (C). Shields Township and Libertyville Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Among Illinois towns, closer to the middle
Illinois’ cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so North Chicago’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 50% of the 339 Illinois towns we grade, against 64% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind North Chicago’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Property crime holds North Chicago’s grade up; violent crime pulls it down. Its violent rate (1.8) 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | North Chicago | Rest of Illinois | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
North Chicago’s police reported 162 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.8 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 North Chicago 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 | North Chicago property | Rest of Illinois property | North Chicago violent | Rest of Illinois violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 6.8 | 19.6 | 1.5 | 3.4 |
| 2024 | 5.6 | 19.9 | 1.8 | 3.2 |
| 2025 | 6.3 | 17.1 | 2.0 | 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, 2023–2025, against the rest of Illinois.
256 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.
62 violent and 194 property, as reported to the FBI by North Chicago’s police.
Eight people died in crashes on North Chicago’s roads in 2019–2023
North Chicago had 8 fatal crashes in five years, in which eight people died; 2 were pedestrians.
That is about what is typical for Illinois towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (5.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of North Chicago’s size would see about 8 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so North Chicago’s own rate (5.2) 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.
North Chicago and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Chicago | B | 1.8 | 6.3 |
| Shields Township | — | — | — |
| Lake Bluff | B+ | 0.3 | 9.1 |
| Waukegan | C | 3.9 | 14.2 |
| Libertyville Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Shields Township and Libertyville Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Illinois towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Chicago | B | 1.8 | 6.3 |
| Mundelein | A− | 0.6 | 6.4 |
| Woodridge | A− | 0.5 | 7.2 |
| Northbrook | B+ | 0.2 | 10.8 |
| St. Charles | B | 0.9 | 10.4 |
| O'Fallon | B− | 1.6 | 10.7 |
The five graded Illinois towns closest to North Chicago’s population (34,050), 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 North Chicago. 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 North Chicago’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (30,614 in 2025); our figure for North Chicago is 34,050 (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 North Chicago
Is North Chicago, IL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, North Chicago reports less crime per resident than 64% of U.S. towns, a B Safety Grade and #170 of 339 in Illinois. Its police reported 1.8 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 North Chicago?
1.8 violent and 6.3 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.
How many homicides were there in North Chicago in 2025?
North Chicago’s police reported 2 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 6.5 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is North Chicago safer than Lake Bluff?
Lake Bluff reports less crime per resident than North Chicago: Lake Bluff grades B+ for safety and North Chicago B. Lake Bluff’s police reported 0.3 violent and 9.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices North Chicago?
North Chicago’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “North Chicago”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in North Chicago.
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.