The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Illinois

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Illinois For 2026

While Mount Vernon takes the cake for most dangerous city statewide overall, there’s nowhere more violent in Illinois than Danville. Danville averaged a murder each month in 2024, giving the city the 67th highest murder rate in the state. With all that live-action violence going on every day, it’s no wonder that the Vermilion County War Museum is one of Danville’s biggest attractions.

It’s not like Danville doesn’t have its fair share of property crime either — each year, residents face a 1 in 17 chance of having their stuff damaged or stolen.

Coming in as the second most dangerous place in Illinois is Peoria. Peoria is known for having one of the most scenic roads in the country, Grand View Drive, but with 852 car thefts occurring in 2024, we wonder how many people that got to experience it in 2024 were driving cars they actually owned.

Peoria also ranked as the second most violent place in Illinois, with 14 murders taking place and residents facing a 1 in 74 chance of being attacked in 2024.

Carbondale wasn’t even in the top twenty most dangerous places in Illinois last year, so hopefully, they can get crime back under control and disappear from this list by next year. The city in southern Illinois experienced 792 property crimes in 2024.

Additionally, Carbondale had the highest rate of rape cases in Illinois, with one occurring just about every week, on average. The city also averaged about two aggravated assault cases a week.

So while the statues of mythical creatures at Boo Castle Park might be scary, you have a lot more to fear from the criminal elements of Carbondale.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and posit that the Springfield the Simpsons live in isn’t in Illinois, based on the fact that the Simpson’s hometown only has one bumbling criminal at work. I’m also going to guess that Abraham Lincoln would be pretty disappointed with the state of affairs in Springfield these days.

Both violent crime and property crime rates in Springfield are in the top ten statewide, with 5,499 instances of theft, burglary, and vandalism, and 1,009 attacks and murders.

Calumet Park ranked as the fifth most dangerous place to live in Illinois. With a 986/100k rate of violent crime and a 3,522/100k rate of property crime, the risks for residents are evident. The village’s 65 incidents of violent crime, including 0, murders, and the prevalent property crimes totaling 232, underscore the challenges faced by local law enforcement.

In Chicago Heights, residents face a substantial threat from violence and property crimes, making it one of the more hazardous locations in Illinois. With a violent crime rate of 1,232/100k and a property crime rate of 2,732/100k, safety is a significant concern. The figures speak for themselves; with 318 incidents of violent crime including 5 murders, the city holds the third highest position for the highest violent crime rate in the state.

Located in Cook County, this citys struggle with crime is not to be understated. Being approximately 30 miles south of the bustling Chicago Loop, means that while it shares some challenges with larger urban areas, there is potential for change and a safer environment for its 25,802 residents.

Chicago has garnered a reputation as one of the most dangerous cities in Illinois due to its high rates of violent crime, including shootings and homicides. The city’s struggle with gang violence is a significant contributor to the 14,245 incidents of violent crime.

Numerous gangs vie for control of different territories within the city, often resulting in turf wars that escalate into public shootings and retaliatory violence. In particular, the South Side and West Side neighborhoods have been notorious for such activities, where incidents of gun violence are disproportionately high compared to other areas of the city.

Furthermore, socioeconomic factors are critical to the city’s safety issues. Chicago faces substantial economic disparities, with some neighborhoods experiencing high levels of poverty, unemployment, and educational disadvantages.

Decatur is located in the center of Illinois. When you hear about the state, your mind might automatically turn to Chicago, the biggest city in the Midwest and the home of infamous criminals like Al Capone.

Well, that’s a long way from here. Decatur sits in the middle of farm country. No wonder it serves as the headquarters of agriculture giant Archer Daniels Midland. But while farms make up much of the surrounding landscape, Decatur suffers from a taste of the Chicago-style crime. While violence is reasonably under wraps, high burglary rates contribute to making this the number 10 most dangerous spot in Illinois.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In Illinois FAQs

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No, Illinois is not a dangerous state as it ranks as the #24 safest state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in Illinois ranks 18th most dangerous in the United States — 15.17% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Prairie State ranks 38th most dangerous in the United States — 20.21% better than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.

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Yes, Chicago is a dangerous city. Chicago ranks as the #116 most dangerous out of 328 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Chicago might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Edison Park is the safest in Chicago, while West Garfield Park is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Chicago ranks 142nd highest in America — 2.45% better than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 102nd highest in the United States — 14.81% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 and that no city in America is ‘dangerous’. Despite the uptick in murders, it’s nothing like you’d see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.

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