Photo: Sea Cow · CC BY-SA 4.0Violent crime per resident is higher in East Chicago than in 95% of U.S. towns
Among its 3 neighbors with figures, only one records less crime per resident. Taking everything together, East Chicago scores D (#84 of 91 graded towns in Indiana): more crime per resident than 88% of U.S. towns, measured on crimes its police reported between 2023 and 2025. Per resident, the graded crimes were down 40% from 2023 to 2025. Annual rates stand at 7.3 violent crimes and 17.0 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 4.3 and 19.1 in the rest of Indiana.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of IN” is every other Indiana 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 East Chicago
1 of the 3 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 5 Indiana towns on East Chicago’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Whiting (C−), Hammond (D), Gary (D−). North Township and Calumet 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 East Chicago’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 property rate (17.0) 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.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | East Chicago property | Rest of Indiana property | East Chicago violent | Rest of Indiana violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 22.4 | 22.2 | 8.0 | 4.9 |
| 2024 | 15.9 | 20.3 | 8.3 | 4.6 |
| 2025 | 12.5 | 15.0 | 5.7 | 3.5 |
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, 2023–2025, against the rest of Indiana.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | East Chicago | Rest of Indiana | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 8.0 | 4.9 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 8.3 | 4.6 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 5.7 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
East Chicago’s police reported 564 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 7.3 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.3 in the rest of Indiana and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in East 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 6 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
466 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.
145 violent and 321 property, as reported to the FBI by East Chicago’s police.
15 people died in crashes on East Chicago’s roads in 2019–2023
East Chicago had 12 fatal crashes in five years, in which 15 people died; 2 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist. 2 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 11.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Indiana towns of 25,000–100,000 people (8.1, 86 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.
East Chicago and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Chicago | D | 7.3 | 17.0 |
| North Township | — | — | — |
| Hammond | D | 6.6 | 29.8 |
| Calumet Township | — | — | — |
| Gary | D− | 12.1 | 30.5 |
| Whiting | C− | 3.7 | 18.3 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. North Township and Calumet Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Indiana towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Chicago | D | 7.3 | 17.0 |
| St. John | A+ | 0.2 | 1.5 |
| Munster | B+ | 0.7 | 9.7 |
| Franklin | B | 0.9 | 10.1 |
| Highland | B− | 1.3 | 14.6 |
| Avon | C+ | 1.1 | 18.7 |
The five graded Indiana towns closest to East Chicago’s population (25,610), 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 East 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 East Chicago’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (25,626 in 2025); our figure for East Chicago is 25,610 (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 East Chicago
Is East Chicago, IN safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, East Chicago reports more crime per resident than 88% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #84 of 91 in Indiana. Its police reported 7.3 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.3 in the rest of Indiana and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in East Chicago?
7.3 violent and 17.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Indiana reports 4.3 and 19.1; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in East Chicago in 2025?
East Chicago’s police reported 4 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 15.6 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is East Chicago safer than Hammond?
Hammond reports more crime per resident than East Chicago: Hammond grades D for safety and East Chicago D. Hammond’s police reported 6.6 violent and 29.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices East Chicago?
East Chicago’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “East 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 East 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.