Essex is a neighborhood of 2,730 residents in Chicago, about 9 miles south of downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Essex?
Essex grades F for property crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 99% of Americans live. Theft makes up 32% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades C+, and vehicle theft grades F. Chicago as a whole grades F for property crime.
F
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000More property crime than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
1% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Essex as a whole, and 99% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Essex scores 0.
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 property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least 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 Essex, Chicago, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Essex in Chicago, 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 about property crime in Essex
Car thefts and acts of vandalism both run high. In Essex, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 15.2 car thefts and 29.6 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 5.5 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Chicago as a whole, 69% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
Property crime rates and types in Essex
CrimeGrade™ estimates Essex has about 76 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about triple the rate for the US as a whole and 49% more than Chicago as a whole.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Vandalism is the most common property crime in Essex, about 39% of the total, followed by theft and vehicle theft.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. 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 property crime happens in Chicago
The Chicago Police Department polices Essex; these figures cover Chicago as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Chicago as a whole, 68% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 75% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (68%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (75%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (69%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (48%)
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.
Property crime in Essex and nearby neighborhoods
Of the 10 neighborhoods closest to Essex, 6 have less property crime. South Chicago and Woodlawn have the least.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Essex apart: it has 3 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 19.7% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places with few jobs tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.3 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 99% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.19.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 98% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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. 67% of residents here live in walkable areas.A- (74 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 80% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.96% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 83% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 property crime costs Essex
Property crime costs Essex about $1.7 million a year, or $633 per resident and about $1,410 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
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
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.
