Beardstown is a city of 6,990 in Cass County, about 45 miles west of Springfield · Updated November 2026
Is Beardstown, IL safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Beardstown is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Beardstown sits near the middle: 57% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 43% in neighborhoods with less. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Beardstown run from A+ to B+, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 867 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
57% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Beardstown as a whole, and 43% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Beardstown scores 867.
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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 Beardstown, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Beardstown, 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
Crime rates and types in Beardstown
CrimeGrade™ estimates Beardstown has about 34 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 8% less than the US as a whole and 19% less than Illinois.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Assault is the most common crime in Beardstown, about 42% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
The Beardstown Police Department's 2024 counts of aggravated assault, burglary and theft fell far below their usual levels, a sign of a reporting gap, so CrimeGrade™ used its own estimates instead.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Beardstown compares with nearby cities
Beardstown has the most crime of its 2 nearest cities.
Two things set Beardstown apart: it has a Walk Grade of C (34 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 27 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Even so, 50% of residents in Beardstown live in car-dependent areas, where most errands take a car. Very walkable places tend to report more theft and assault, and assault 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 and assault.C (34 of 100)US: 21Higher 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 and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Beardstown: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.27 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 76% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.7.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 67% 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.86% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 65% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 64% 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 crime costs Beardstown
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Beardstown about $881 a year per household, 27% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $6.2 million a year, or $887 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$210,000
$30
Rape
$230,000
$33
Robbery
$24,000
$3
Assault
$970,000
$139
Burglary
$120,000
$17
Theft
$350,000
$50
Vehicle theft
$64,000
$9
Arson
$21,000
$3
Vandalism
$340,000
$49
Total
$2.3 million
$334
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Beardstown means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
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.
Schools in Beardstown, IL average a SchoolGrade of D+: 35% of students test proficient, against 20% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Beardstown on SchoolGrade
