Melrose Park is a village of 32,600 in Cook County, about 12 miles west of downtown Chicago · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Melrose Park?
Property crime in Melrose Park runs higher than in most US neighborhoods: a B+, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 62% of Americans live. Theft makes up 46% 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 740 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
38% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Melrose Park as a whole, and 62% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Melrose Park scores 740.
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 Melrose Park, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Melrose Park, 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 Melrose Park
Burglaries happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Melrose Park, 22% of reported burglaries happen on streets and sidewalks, against 1% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Melrose Park
Low property crime is the norm across Melrose Park: 95% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Property crime grades across Melrose Park run from A- to C+.
95%
A or B 95%C 5%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in Melrose Park?
Reported property crime in Melrose Park has risen 34% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 13 to 17 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime rose 18%.
Property crime, change since 2019
Melrose ParkUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Melrose Park. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Melrose Park
Property, US
2016
-2%
+15%
2017
-9%
+12%
2018
-1%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-9%
-8%
2021
-16%
-10%
2022
+32%
-6%
2023
+14%
-7%
2024
+34%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Melrose Park
CrimeGrade™ estimates Melrose Park has about 23 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and close to 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 Melrose Park, about 46% 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 Melrose Park
Melrose Park has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 32% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (31%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (32%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (40%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (29%)
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 Melrose Park and nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Melrose Park, 6 have less property crime. Stone Park and Hillside have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Melrose Park. 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, Melrose Park is safer than 70% of them.
Night lighting, walkability and density in Melrose Park
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Melrose Park apart: it has a Walk Grade of C+ (44 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 64% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft than places with only one of them, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
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
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.C+ (44 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 89% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.64% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 88% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.68 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 85% 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 Melrose Park: C- (30 of 100).6 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 75% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.12.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 74% 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 Melrose Park
Property crime costs Melrose Park about $5.5 million a year, or $169 per resident and about $498 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
$1.0 million
$31
Theft
$1.7 million
$53
Vehicle theft
$1.2 million
$37
Arson
$100,000
$3
Vandalism
$1.4 million
$44
Total
$5.5 million
$169
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.
