The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Springfield, IL
Springfield is the capital of Illinois, a city of 127,000 in Sangamon County · Updated November 2026
Is Springfield, IL safe?
Springfield has more crime than most of the country: an overall CrimeGrade™ of C, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 84% of Americans live. Violent crime grades C+ and property crime C. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Springfield run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
C
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 460 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
16% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Springfield as a whole, and 84% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Springfield scores 460.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Springfield, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Springfield, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Springfield
Burglary stands out among C-graded cities. For the typical resident of a C-graded US city, the figure is 2.5 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; Springfield has 14.8.
One part of Springfield stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Harvard Park, Old Aristocracy Hill & Downtown Springfield, in central Springfield, run at more than triple the rate in the rest of the city.
Simple assaults and acts of vandalism both run high. In Springfield, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 38.9 simple assaults and 27.0 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 and 5.5 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Springfield
Safety changes a lot from one part of Springfield to the next: 50% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 34% live in areas graded D or F. Grades across Springfield run from A+ to F; 16% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
50%16%34%
A or B 50%C 16%D or F 34%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Westchester, southwestRobberies run at a small fraction of the rate in the rest of Springfield.B+729
3Historic West-Side, Oaks & West Koke Mill, westBurglaries run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Springfield.B623
4Oak Ridge, northwestClose to the rest of Springfield on most crimes.C+520
5Grandview & Twin Lakes, northeastThefts run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Springfield.C+486
6Pillsbury & Enos Park, northBurglaries run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Springfield.D163
7Harvard Park, Old Aristocracy Hill & Downtown Springfield, centralBurglaries run at more than double the rate in the rest of Springfield.F8
Neighborhood areas of Springfield, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in Springfield?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Springfield is up 14%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 7.9 to 9.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 45 to 49 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 14%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
SpringfieldUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Springfield. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Springfield
Violent, US
Property, Springfield
Property, US
2016
+42%
+4%
-0%
+15%
2017
+34%
+4%
+7%
+12%
2018
+7%
+0%
+8%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+21%
+4%
-12%
-8%
2021
+7%
+6%
-14%
-10%
2022
-2%
+5%
-5%
-6%
2023
+0%
+2%
+7%
-7%
2024
+14%
-4%
+10%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Springfield
CrimeGrade™ estimates Springfield has about 122 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about triple the rate for the US as a whole and about triple the rate for Illinois.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
The largest share of crime reported in Springfield is simple assault, about 32% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Springfield
Springfield has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Springfield, 66% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 49% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (66%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Homes (53%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (49%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (59%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (58%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Springfield compares with nearby cities
Springfield has the most crime of its 4 nearest cities.
Two things set Springfield apart: it has 90 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 3.8 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery, and they run high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.90 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 95% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 93% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 72% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (22 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 65% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.10.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 89% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.14.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Springfield: C- (28 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Springfield
Crime costs Springfield about $2,751 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than double the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $158 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $401 million a year, or $3,154 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$16 million
$124
Rape
$8.0 million
$63
Robbery
$4.9 million
$39
Aggravated assault
$23 million
$182
Simple assault
$36 million
$283
Burglary
$17 million
$133
Theft
$17 million
$136
Vehicle theft
$11 million
$84
Arson
$860,000
$7
Vandalism
$24 million
$191
Total
$158 million
$1,241
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Springfield means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Springfield, IL average a SchoolGrade of C: 41% of students test proficient, against 25% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Springfield on SchoolGrade
