Violent crime
2,470 per 100,000 residents, per year
826 reported in the last 12 months
−1% vs. Chicago (2,494)
Data through September 2026, Chicago Police Department
Crime in Lower West Side, Chicago
The violent crime rate in Lower West Side is 2,470 per 100,000 residents per year, about the same as Chicago as a whole (2,494). It ranks 32 of 75 community areas, where 1 is the highest rate.
The numbers
12 months to Sep 2026Property crime
3,992 per 100,000 residents, per year
1,335 reported in the last 12 months
+1% vs. Chicago (3,944)
All reported
6,712 per 100,000 residents, per year
2,245 reported in the last 12 months
−2% vs. Chicago (6,855)
Rates use the 2020 Census population of 33,446 for Lower West Side. Small areas swing more month to month, so all rates here use a 12-month window ending September 2026.
Where Lower West Side sits in Chicago, and where incidents concentrate
rank 32 of 75Loading map…
1the block with the most violent incidents10the tenthCounted over the last 12 months. Point at a mark, or at a row in the table below, to see which street it is.
SaferHigher rateNot rated: park or fewer than 2,500 residentsArea shading: violent crimes per 100,000 residents per year, so you can see how this neighbourhood compares with the ones around it.
Lower West Side is in the middle of the city’s range: rank 32 of 75. Nearby in the ranking: Chicago Lawn (2,878), Morgan Park (2,611), Armour Square (2,420), Hegewisch (2,420).
Blocks with the most violent incidents
12 months to Sep 2026| Block | Violent | Property | Share of area’s violent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01022XX S Halsted St | 75 | 26 | 9% |
| 02018XX S Blue Island Ave | 31 | 14 | 4% |
| 03011XX W 18th St | 24 | 17 | 3% |
| 04016XX S Blue Island Ave | 23 | 8 | 3% |
| 05025XX W Cermak Rd | 16 | 44 | 2% |
| 06018XX S Loomis St | 15 | 13 | 2% |
| 07017XX W 18th St | 13 | 35 | 2% |
| 08023XX S Halsted St | 11 | 7 | 1% |
| 09018XX S Ashland Ave | 10 | 5 | 1% |
| 10024XX S Blue Island Ave | 10 | 4 | 1% |
“Block” is the hundred-block as the police department publishes it (for example 51XX W Madison St), never an exact address. Only blocks with 5 or more violent incidents in the window are listed; the top 10 account for 28% of Lower West Side’s violent incidents. These are the numbered marks on the map above; hover a row to find it.
Violent crime, month by month
Oct 2025 to Sep 2026| Month | Violent crimes in Lower West Side |
|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 94 |
| Nov 2025 | 70 |
| Dec 2025 | 55 |
| Jan 2026 | 60 |
| Feb 2026 | 69 |
| Mar 2026 | 62 |
| Apr 2026 | 73 |
| May 2026 | 71 |
| Jun 2026 | 65 |
| Jul 2026 | 71 |
| Aug 2026 | 80 |
| Sep 2026 | 56 |
When crime happens in Lower West Side
12 months to Sep 2026In the last 12 months, half of the violent crime reported in Lower West Side happened between 3 pm and 2 am. Saturday had the most.
Violent crime busiest hour 4 pm
Property crime busiest hour 5 pm
Each line is an average day of that kind, as a multiple of the average hour of the week (dashed line), smoothed over three hours. Days run from 6 am to 6 am, so a Friday night stays on Friday. Times are when the incident happened, as recorded by Chicago Police Department; 2% of incidents have no usable time (many unknown times are recorded as midnight or noon) and are left out.
See the numbers by hour
| Hour | Friday and Saturday | Sunday to Thursday | All days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 6 | 18 | 24 |
| 7 am | 6 | 17 | 23 |
| 8 am | 9 | 22 | 31 |
| 9 am | 6 | 21 | 27 |
| 10 am | 10 | 21 | 31 |
| 11 am | 11 | 20 | 31 |
| 12 pm | 12 | 32 | 44 |
| 1 pm | 10 | 24 | 34 |
| 2 pm | 9 | 22 | 31 |
| 3 pm | 13 | 34 | 47 |
| 4 pm | 13 | 35 | 48 |
| 5 pm | 12 | 30 | 42 |
| 6 pm | 7 | 28 | 35 |
| 7 pm | 11 | 32 | 43 |
| 8 pm | 13 | 27 | 40 |
| 9 pm | 12 | 24 | 36 |
| 10 pm | 15 | 21 | 36 |
| 11 pm | 11 | 26 | 37 |
| 12 am | 19 | 17 | 36 |
| 1 am | 25 | 22 | 47 |
| 2 am | 18 | 11 | 29 |
| 3 am | 13 | 14 | 27 |
| 4 am | 13 | 9 | 22 |
| 5 am | 12 | 10 | 22 |
| Total with a known time | 286 | 537 | 823 |
| Hour | Friday and Saturday | Sunday to Thursday | All days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 14 | 24 | 38 |
| 7 am | 11 | 39 | 50 |
| 8 am | 10 | 23 | 33 |
| 9 am | 16 | 41 | 57 |
| 10 am | 17 | 48 | 65 |
| 11 am | 13 | 33 | 46 |
| 12 pm | 16 | 43 | 59 |
| 1 pm | 12 | 33 | 45 |
| 2 pm | 27 | 48 | 75 |
| 3 pm | 15 | 39 | 54 |
| 4 pm | 18 | 48 | 66 |
| 5 pm | 32 | 65 | 97 |
| 6 pm | 19 | 53 | 72 |
| 7 pm | 9 | 33 | 42 |
| 8 pm | 19 | 44 | 63 |
| 9 pm | 13 | 35 | 48 |
| 10 pm | 24 | 42 | 66 |
| 11 pm | 21 | 40 | 61 |
| 12 am | 14 | 33 | 47 |
| 1 am | 17 | 13 | 30 |
| 2 am | 17 | 26 | 43 |
| 3 am | 23 | 34 | 57 |
| 4 am | 14 | 22 | 36 |
| 5 am | 12 | 34 | 46 |
| Total with a known time | 403 | 893 | 1,296 |
Reported crime by type
last 12 months| Offense | Reported | Per 100k, per year | vs. Chicago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assault and batteryViolent | 759 | 2,269 | −1% |
| RobberyTaking property by force or threatViolent | 62 | 185 | +5% |
| HomicideViolent | 5 | 15 | −4% |
| TheftShoplifting, pickpocketing and other theft without force or entryProperty | 569 | 1,701 | +4% |
| Property damage and arsonProperty | 267 | 798 | −15% |
| Vehicle theftProperty | 228 | 682 | +2% |
| Theft from vehiclesItems or parts taken from a vehicle, break-ins includedProperty | 180 | 538 | +10% |
| BurglaryEntering a home or business to stealProperty | 91 | 272 | +29% |
| Weapons offensesOther | 65 | 194 | +8% |
| Drug offensesOther | 19 | 57 | −76% |
Source and dates
ijzp-q8t2- Source
- Chicago Police Department, via City of Chicago Data Portal (dataset ijzp-q8t2), aggregated by community area
- Window
- October 2025 to September 2026 (12 months)
- Population
- 33,446 residents, 2020 Census
- City page
- Crime in Chicago, IL
- All community areas
- Chicago neighborhoods by reported crime rate