Gary is a city of 72,700 in Lake County, about 25 miles southeast of downtown Chicago · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Gary?
Gary grades B for property crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 71% of Americans live. Theft makes up 42% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B-, and vehicle theft grades A-.
B
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 640 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
29% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Gary as a whole, and 71% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Gary scores 640.
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 Gary, IN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Gary, 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 Gary
One part of Gary stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Midtown, in central Gary, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
Burglaries run high for a city with a B for property crime. Gary has 5.8 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a US city graded B for property crime, the figure is 2.7.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Gary
Most of Gary grades well for property crime: 57% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 5% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Gary run from A+ to D.
57%38%
A or B 57%C 38%D or F 5%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Miller Beach, Aetna & Emerson, northeastBurglaries run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Gary.B+702
2Brunswick & Ambridge Mann, northwestCar thefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Gary.B677
3Downtown West & Downtown Gary, northCar thefts run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Gary.B623
4Tolleston & Tarrytown, westClose to the rest of Gary on most crimes.B-611
5Glen Park, southCar thefts run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Gary.B-574
6Pulaski, eastClose to the rest of Gary on most crimes.B-572
7Midtown, centralThefts run at about double the rate in the rest of Gary.C404
Neighborhood areas of Gary, 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.
Property crime rates and types in Gary
CrimeGrade™ estimates Gary has about 44 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 86% more than the US as a whole and more than double the rate for Indiana.
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 Gary, about 42% of the total, followed by vandalism 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.
The Gary Police Department's 2024 report to the FBI was missing some months of theft, vehicle theft, arson and vandalism; CrimeGrade™ filled them in from the department's own monthly pattern. The department sent the FBI no usable 2024 count of burglary, so CrimeGrade™ built the figure from the department's own reports for recent years, brought up to 2024.
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 Gary
Gary has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Gary, 82% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 76% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (82%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (76%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (79%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (48%)
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 Gary and nearby cities
Gary has more property crime than 9 of its 10 nearest cities. Schererville and Portage have the least property crime nearby.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Gary apart: it has 26.6% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 5.3 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and they run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.26.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.5.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 98% 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. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (19 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 54% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.6.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 82% 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 74% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.33 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 65% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Gary on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Gary
Property crime costs Gary about $25 million a year, or $341 per resident and about $821 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
$3.8 million
$52
Theft
$6.8 million
$94
Vehicle theft
$6.7 million
$93
Arson
$310,000
$4
Vandalism
$7.1 million
$98
Total
$25 million
$341
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.
