Washington Heights, Chicago, IL Property Crime Rates and Maps
Washington Heights is a neighborhood of 23,600 residents in Chicago, about 11 miles south of downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Washington Heights?
Washington Heights grades F for property crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 97% of Americans live. Theft makes up 35% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B, 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
3% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Washington Heights as a whole, and 97% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Washington Heights 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 Washington Heights, Chicago, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Washington Heights 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 Washington Heights
Car thefts and acts of vandalism both run high. In Washington Heights, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 14.8 car thefts and 26.1 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.
How Washington Heights compares within Chicago
Every part of Washington Heights grades D or F for property crime on the national scale.
100%
D or F 100%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Washington Heights has less property crime than 36 of the 135 neighborhoods in Chicago. It covers much of the Roseland, South Shore, and Woodlawn areas.
Is property crime going up in Chicago?
Reported property crime in Chicago as a whole has risen 12% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 30 to 34 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
ChicagoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve Chicago. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Chicago
Property, US
2016
+6%
+15%
2017
+8%
+12%
2018
+7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-28%
-8%
2021
-26%
-10%
2022
+3%
-6%
2023
+11%
-7%
2024
+12%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Washington Heights
CrimeGrade™ estimates Washington Heights has about 69 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about triple the rate for the US as a whole and 36% 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 Washington Heights, about 38% 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 Washington Heights; 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 Washington Heights and nearby neighborhoods
Washington Heights has less property crime than 7 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Washington Heights. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with neighborhoods of similar size and density, Washington Heights has more property crime than 88% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Washington Heights apart: it has 7 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 4.3 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that 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.7 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 95% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.4.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 84% 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.C+ (44 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 59% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Washington Heights: C+ (42 of 100).24 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 74% 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 Washington Heights
Property crime costs Washington Heights about $14 million a year, or $573 per resident and about $1,532 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.
