Recorded crime per resident is lower in Prairie Grove than in 70% of U.S. towns
One of the 2 towns next door with figures records less crime per resident. Scored on crimes Prairie Grove’s police reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on B+ for safety. Violence and property crime split as 1.2 violent crimes and 6.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 3.1 and 18.8 in the rest of Illinois.
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 Prairie Grove
1 of the 2 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 2 Illinois towns on Prairie Grove’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: McHenry (A−), Crystal Lake (B). Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Prairie Grove’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 | Prairie Grove | Rest of Illinois | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Prairie Grove’s police reported 7 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.2 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 Prairie Grove 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 | Prairie Grove property | Rest of Illinois property | Prairie Grove violent | Rest of Illinois violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 10.3 | 19.5 | 0.5 | 3.4 |
| 2024 | 8.2 | 19.8 | 1.5 | 3.2 |
| 2025 | 1.5 | 17.1 | 1.5 | 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.
6 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.
3 violent and 3 property, as reported to the FBI by Prairie Grove’s police.
Two people died in crashes on Prairie Grove’s roads in 2019–2023
Prairie Grove had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which two people died.
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 Prairie Grove’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Prairie Grove’s own rate (18.5) 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.
Prairie Grove and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Grove | B+ | 1.2 | 6.7 |
| Crystal Lake | B | 1.0 | 10.8 |
| McHenry | A− | 0.6 | 5.5 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Illinois towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Grove | B+ | 1.2 | 6.7 |
| Cambridge | A+ | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Catlin | A+ | 0.3 | 1.9 |
| Rockdale | A | 1.4 | 0.8 |
| Hinckley | A− | 1.0 | 4.6 |
| Athens | B+ | 2.1 | 4.7 |
The five graded Illinois towns closest to Prairie Grove’s population (1,939), 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 Prairie Grove. 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 Prairie Grove’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (1,950 in 2025); our figure for Prairie Grove is 1,939 (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 Prairie Grove
Is Prairie Grove, IL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Prairie Grove reports less crime per resident than 70% of U.S. towns, a B+ Safety Grade. Its police reported 1.2 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 Prairie Grove?
1.2 violent and 6.7 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 Prairie Grove safer than Crystal Lake?
Crystal Lake reports more crime per resident than Prairie Grove: Crystal Lake grades B for safety and Prairie Grove B+. Crystal Lake’s police reported 1.0 violent and 10.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Prairie Grove?
Prairie Grove’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Prairie Grove”. 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 Prairie Grove.
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.