Chicago, IL has safety grade C+, a population of about 2,699,347, an overall crime rate near 515 per 100k as of 2026. For real estate investors, safety is only half the picture: pair these crime statistics with rental demand and returns to judge whether Chicago, IL is a sound place to buy. See the investment overview for Chicago, IL for median prices, rental yield and Pulse Score, or run the numbers in the ROI analyzer.
Chicago, IL crime snapshot: safety grade C+, violent crime rate 3.00 per 1,000 residents, property crime rate 2.00 per 1,000 residents. Compare nearby zip codes, hotspots, and safety recommendations below.
Caution
per 1000 residents
Explore related real estate, safety, and education data for Chicago, IL.
Crime rates are normalized per 1,000 residents based on reported incidents in FBI UCR and local agency feeds. We split incidents into violent, property, and other categories so you can see where the risk concentrates.
The “Safest Zip Codes” section above ranks nearby zip codes by safety score, while the “High Crime Zip Codes” section highlights areas with elevated reported crime in Chicago, IL.
Crime data is refreshed on a rolling basis as updated reports are published by the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer and partnering agencies.
Combine this crime report with the market overview for Chicago, IL and the school report linked in the “Related analysis” section to assess both safety and investment fundamentals.
PulseReal’s analysis is built on top of these public, authoritative datasets.
Official UCR crime statistics by state and agency from the FBI.
Population, demographics, housing, and income data from the US Census Bureau.
Encyclopedic overview of the city, history, and notable landmarks.
Housing affordability, fair-market rents, and market reports from HUD.
Local unemployment and employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Bureau of Justice Statistics publications on US crime victimization.
✓ Analyze real estate data ✓ Neighborhood safety ratings ✓ Detailed crime statistics
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