Safest Cities in Illinois – 2021
Illinois’s crime situation is a mixed bag: its property crime rate is a touch below the national rate, while the state’s violent crime rate is about 10% higher than national levels. The statewide violent crime rate is no doubt elevated by high crime in Chicago, Illinois’s largest city, which is plagued by violent crime nearly three times the national rate.
In contrast, many Illinois communities achieved remarkably low crime rates in 2018, with each of the state’s 5 safest cities experiencing about a quarter of the statewide average of violent crime, or less. Let’s take a closer look at them.In contrast, many Illinois communities achieved remarkably low crime rates in 2018, with each of the state’s 5 safest cities experiencing about a quarter of the statewide average of violent crime, or less. Let’s take a closer look at them.
Campton Hills is Illinois’s safest community. The Kane County village is 54 miles west of Chicago, yet still considered part of the large city’s expansive metropolitan area. With just 1 recorded violent crime and 17 property crimes in 2018, Campton Hills is in a class of its own compared to other Illinois communities.
Illinois’ 2nd safest municipality is Channahon, a village of 12.8K that straddles Will and Grundy counties. Like #1 Campton Hills, Channahon logged less than 10 violent crimes in 2018, while its property crime rate is less-than-a-quarter of national levels.
#3 Palatine is a northwestern suburb of Chicago located in Cook County. The village’s remarkable violent crime rate of 0.41 per 1,000 is even lower than that of the prior entry, yet its slightly higher rate of property crime (despite being just 25% of the national rate) drops it a bit.
Palos Hills is Illinois’ 4th safest municipality. The Cook County city recorded a violent crime rate of around 1 offense per 1000 people in 2018, which is just 25% of the Illinois rate. Palos Hills’ property crime rate is impressive as well, at 4.84 per 1K.
Filling out Illinois’ top 5 is Hanover Park, a village in Cook and Dupage counties that recorded violent and property crime rates only slightly higher than those of #4 Palos Hills.
Illinois’s Safest Cities
| IL | City | Population | Violent crime |
Property crime |
Law enforcement employees |
Total crimes |
Crime rate per 1,000 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 |
Property crimes per 1,000 |
Law enforcement per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Campton Hills | 11305 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 18 | 1.59 | 0.09 | 1.50 | 0.44 |
| 2 | Channahon | 12837 | 9 | 58 | 25 | 67 | 5.22 | 0.70 | 4.52 | 1.95 |
| 3 | Palatine | 68648 | 28 | 358 | 128 | 386 | 5.62 | 0.41 | 5.22 | 1.86 |
| 4 | Palos Hills | 17338 | 18 | 84 | 34 | 102 | 5.88 | 1.04 | 4.84 | 1.96 |
| 5 | Hanover Park | 37971 | 43 | 194 | 81 | 237 | 6.24 | 1.13 | 5.11 | 2.13 |
| 6 | South Elgin | 22627 | 24 | 97 | 35 | 121 | 5.35 | 1.06 | 4.29 | 1.55 |
| 7 | Deerfield | 19049 | 4 | 137 | 53 | 141 | 7.40 | 0.21 | 7.19 | 2.78 |
| 8 | Shorewood | 17482 | 14 | 101 | 33 | 115 | 6.58 | 0.80 | 5.78 | 1.89 |
| 9 | Lindenhurst | 14450 | 13 | 58 | 15 | 71 | 4.91 | 0.90 | 4.01 | 1.04 |
| 10 | Hinsdale | 17831 | 2 | 98 | 24 | 100 | 5.61 | 0.11 | 5.50 | 1.35 |
| 11 | Plano | 11692 | 9 | 72 | 24 | 81 | 6.93 | 0.77 | 6.16 | 2.05 |
| 12 | Highland Park | 29764 | 24 | 198 | 69 | 222 | 7.46 | 0.81 | 6.65 | 2.32 |
| 13 | Round Lake | 18454 | 18 | 108 | 30 | 126 | 6.83 | 0.98 | 5.85 | 1.63 |
| 14 | Warrenville | 13280 | 13 | 108 | 39 | 121 | 9.11 | 0.98 | 8.13 | 2.94 |
| 15 | Lockport | 25510 | 17 | 177 | 44 | 194 | 7.60 | 0.67 | 6.94 | 1.72 |
| 16 | St. Charles | 32764 | 45 | 232 | 62 | 277 | 8.45 | 1.37 | 7.08 | 1.89 |
| 17 | Morton | 16302 | 18 | 103 | 23 | 121 | 7.42 | 1.10 | 6.32 | 1.41 |
| 18 | Chatham | 12770 | 18 | 82 | 20 | 100 | 7.83 | 1.41 | 6.42 | 1.57 |
| 19 | Waterloo | 10408 | 13 | 73 | 18 | 86 | 8.26 | 1.25 | 7.01 | 1.73 |
| 20 | Arlington Heights | 75688 | 28 | 628 | 130 | 656 | 8.67 | 0.37 | 8.30 | 1.72 |
| 21 | Elmhurst | 47025 | 23 | 445 | 106 | 468 | 9.95 | 0.49 | 9.46 | 2.25 |
| 22 | Pekin | 32541 | 136 | 156 | 59 | 292 | 8.97 | 4.18 | 4.79 | 1.81 |
| 23 | Plainfield | 44525 | 54 | 328 | 71 | 382 | 8.58 | 1.21 | 7.37 | 1.59 |
| 24 | Bolingbrook | 75451 | 112 | 592 | 129 | 704 | 9.33 | 1.48 | 7.85 | 1.71 |
| 25 | Vernon Hills | 26429 | 15 | 295 | 67 | 310 | 11.73 | 0.57 | 11.16 | 2.54 |
| 26 | Burbank | 28771 | 60 | 242 | 57 | 302 | 10.50 | 2.09 | 8.41 | 1.98 |
| 27 | McHenry | 26893 | 48 | 288 | 76 | 336 | 12.49 | 1.78 | 10.71 | 2.83 |
| 28 | Carol Stream | 40019 | 33 | 411 | 87 | 444 | 11.09 | 0.82 | 10.27 | 2.17 |
| 29 | West Chicago | 27174 | 34 | 245 | 50 | 279 | 10.27 | 1.25 | 9.02 | 1.84 |
| 30 | La Grange | 15583 | 15 | 153 | 31 | 168 | 10.78 | 0.96 | 9.82 | 1.99 |
| 31 | Addison | 36791 | 61 | 464 | 130 | 525 | 14.27 | 1.66 | 12.61 | 3.53 |
| 32 | Villa Park | 21806 | 27 | 232 | 49 | 259 | 11.88 | 1.24 | 10.64 | 2.25 |
| 33 | Mount Prospect | 53888 | 32 | 558 | 102 | 590 | 10.95 | 0.59 | 10.35 | 1.89 |
| 34 | Morton Grove | 23123 | 10 | 285 | 58 | 295 | 12.76 | 0.43 | 12.33 | 2.51 |
| 35 | Rolling Meadows | 23970 | 15 | 284 | 57 | 299 | 12.47 | 0.63 | 11.85 | 2.38 |
| 36 | Roscoe | 10466 | 10 | 93 | 15 | 103 | 9.84 | 0.96 | 8.89 | 1.43 |
| 37 | Glendale Heights | 34030 | 18 | 397 | 71 | 415 | 12.20 | 0.53 | 11.67 | 2.09 |
| 38 | Bourbonnais | 18388 | 33 | 154 | 26 | 187 | 10.17 | 1.79 | 8.38 | 1.41 |
| 39 | Lake Zurich | 19930 | 5 | 259 | 48 | 264 | 13.25 | 0.25 | 13.00 | 2.41 |
| 40 | Western Springs | 13554 | 2 | 154 | 24 | 156 | 11.51 | 0.15 | 11.36 | 1.77 |
| 41 | Melrose Park | 25164 | 85 | 316 | 85 | 401 | 15.94 | 3.38 | 12.56 | 3.38 |
| 42 | Elk Grove Village | 32723 | 23 | 485 | 103 | 508 | 15.52 | 0.70 | 14.82 | 3.15 |
| 43 | Oak Forest | 27644 | 37 | 304 | 53 | 341 | 12.34 | 1.34 | 11.00 | 1.92 |
| 44 | Des Plaines | 58155 | 39 | 725 | 116 | 764 | 13.14 | 0.67 | 12.47 | 1.99 |
| 45 | Crest Hill | 21221 | 42 | 203 | 32 | 245 | 11.55 | 1.98 | 9.57 | 1.51 |
| 46 | Northbrook | 33424 | 6 | 512 | 91 | 518 | 15.50 | 0.18 | 15.32 | 2.72 |
| 47 | Downers Grove | 49626 | 49 | 563 | 78 | 612 | 12.33 | 0.99 | 11.34 | 1.57 |
| 48 | Tinley Park | 56638 | 23 | 694 | 89 | 717 | 12.66 | 0.41 | 12.25 | 1.57 |
| 49 | Bensenville | 18324 | 20 | 272 | 41 | 292 | 15.94 | 1.09 | 14.84 | 2.24 |
| 50 | Burr Ridge | 10852 | 3 | 190 | 30 | 193 | 17.78 | 0.28 | 17.51 | 2.76 |
Additional statistics available at https://www.alarms.org/safest-cities-in-illinois/.
Methodology
To identify the safest cities, we reviewed the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics. We eliminated any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI and cities with populations under 10,000. This left 3,381 cities (out of a total of 9,251).
There are two broad classifications of crimes: violent crimes and non-violent crimes. According to the FBI, “Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes are defined in the UCR Program as those offenses that involve force or threat of force. Property crime includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The object of the theft-type offenses is the taking of money or property, but there is no force or threat of force against the victims. ”
We computed the total number of crimes reported by each city by adding violent crimes and property crimes. We then created a crime rate as the number of crimes per 1,000 population. Then we transformed the total crime rate variable so that the skewness was reduced and normalized.
Data from 2,831 law enforcement agencies was then collected to determine police adequacy (TotalCrimes / Number of police employees). We consider that the smaller the police adequacy statistic is, the safer the city is. This variable was also transformed and normalized.
Finally, the two variables were combined to create a safety score for each city.
(This original article is available from https://www.alarms.org/safest-cities-in-illinois/ as of Thursday, March 11, 2021.)