Evanston is a city of 80,900 in Cook County, about 12 miles north of downtown Chicago · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Evanston?
Property crime is high in Evanston: a B-, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 75% of Americans live. Theft makes up 57% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B-, and vehicle theft grades B-.
B-
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 587 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
25% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Evanston as a whole, and 75% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Evanston scores 587.
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 Evanston, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Evanston, 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 Evanston
One part of Evanston stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in South Evanston, in southeast Evanston, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Evanston, 81% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Evanston
Property crime changes a lot from one part of Evanston to the next: 44% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 20% live in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Evanston run from A- to F.
44%36%20%
A or B 44%C 36%D or F 20%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
2Downtown, eastClose to the rest of Evanston on most crimes.B-557
3South Evanston, southeastThefts run at more than double the rate in the rest of Evanston.D+293
Neighborhood areas of Evanston, ranked by property crime 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 property crime going up in Evanston?
Reported property crime in Evanston has held about steady since 2019, within 1%. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 26 to 27 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 14%.
Property crime, change since 2019
EvanstonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Evanston. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Evanston
Property, US
2016
-16%
+15%
2017
-10%
+12%
2018
-13%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-24%
-8%
2021
-17%
-10%
2022
-7%
-6%
2023
+18%
-7%
2024
+1%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Evanston
CrimeGrade™ estimates Evanston has about 34 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 42% more than the US as a whole and 32% more than Illinois.
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.
Theft is the most common property crime in Evanston, about 57% of the total, followed by vandalism and burglary.
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 Evanston
Evanston has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Evanston, 36% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 74% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (36%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (74%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (81%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (41%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Evanston and nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Evanston, 8 have less property crime. Kenilworth and Northfield have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Evanston. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Evanston is safer than 52% of them.
Walkability, night lighting and transit in Evanston
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Evanston apart: it has a Walk Grade of B+ (66 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 17 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft than places with only one of them, and it runs high here.
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. 50% of residents here live in walkable areas.B+ (66 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 95% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Evanston: C (37 of 100).17 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 90% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.68% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 90% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 88% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.57 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 73% 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 property crime costs Evanston
Property crime costs Evanston about $19 million a year, or $229 per resident and about $556 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 the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$3.2 million
$40
Theft
$8.0 million
$99
Vehicle theft
$2.8 million
$35
Arson
$130,000
$2
Vandalism
$4.4 million
$54
Total
$19 million
$229
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
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.
