The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Coles County, IL
Coles County is home to 46,800 residents and includes Charleston and Mattoon · Updated November 2026
Is Coles County, IL safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Coles County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 72% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A+ against A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Coles County run from A+ to B, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 914 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
72% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Coles County as a whole, and 28% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Coles County scores 914.
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 Coles County, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Coles County, 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 in Coles County
Reported rapes run above the US rate. Coles County has less crime than the US as a whole, 15% below the US rate, but more reported rapes: 1.2 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.38 nationally.
Vehicle theft runs low. Coles County has 0.81 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 2.7.
The safest and most dangerous places in Coles County
Every part of Coles County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Coles County run from A+ to B; 55% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Coles County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the north side has the least crime and the Mattoon area the most.
Is crime going up in Coles County?
Reported crime in Coles County has risen since 2019: violent crime is up 24% and property crime up 73%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.9 to 3.6 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 7.6 to 13 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 14% and property crime rose 33%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Coles CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Coles County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Coles County
Violent, US
Property, Coles County
Property, US
2016
+18%
+4%
+64%
+15%
2017
+4%
+4%
+44%
+12%
2018
+6%
+0%
+22%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-23%
+4%
-16%
-8%
2021
-18%
+6%
-26%
-10%
2022
-6%
+5%
+6%
-6%
2023
+9%
+2%
+30%
-7%
2024
+24%
-4%
+73%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Coles County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Coles County has about 32 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 15% less than the US as a whole and 25% 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Coles County is assault, about 44% of the total. It also makes up 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.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Coles County compares with nearby counties
Coles County has the most crime of its 10 nearest counties.
One thing sets Coles County apart: it has 7% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less robbery.
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 Coles County: F (2 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 79% of Americans
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. 78% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 58% of Americans
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.52 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 75% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.8.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 72% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.7% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 72% of Americans
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 Coles County
Crime costs Coles County about $858 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 29% 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 $54 million a year, or $1,148 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.3 million
$28
Rape
$3.3 million
$70
Robbery
$100,000
$2
Assault
$6.9 million
$147
Burglary
$1.7 million
$36
Theft
$1.8 million
$38
Vehicle theft
$580,000
$12
Arson
$79,000
$2
Vandalism
$1.3 million
$29
Total
$17 million
$364
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 Coles County 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 Coles County, IL average a SchoolGrade of C+: 42% of students test proficient, against 24% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Coles County on SchoolGrade
