The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Glen Carbon, IL
Glen Carbon is a village of 15,400 in Madison County, about 16 miles northeast of downtown St. Louis · Updated November 2026
Is Glen Carbon, IL safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Glen Carbon: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 83% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A+ against A. Every neighborhood in Glen Carbon grades A+.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 944 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
83% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Glen Carbon as a whole, and 17% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Glen Carbon scores 944.
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 Glen Carbon, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Glen Carbon, 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 Glen Carbon
Simple assault runs low. Glen Carbon has 2.3 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, a small fraction of the US rate of 9.7.
The safest and least safe parts of Glen Carbon
Every part of Glen Carbon where people live grades A or B on the national scale.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Glen Carbon, the northwest side has the least crime and the north side the most.
Is crime going up in Glen Carbon?
Reported property crime in Glen Carbon has risen 67% since 2019. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 6.6 to 11 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 36%.
Property crime, change since 2019
Glen CarbonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Glen Carbon. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Glen Carbon
Property, US
2016
+17%
+15%
2017
+5%
+12%
2018
+51%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+8%
-8%
2021
+72%
-10%
2022
+83%
-6%
2023
+161%
-7%
2024
+67%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Glen Carbon
CrimeGrade™ estimates Glen Carbon has about 16 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 58% less than the US as a whole and 63% 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 Glen Carbon is theft, about 60% 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.
Where and when crime happens in Glen Carbon
Glen Carbon has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Vandalism
Homes (38%)
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.
How Glen Carbon compares with nearby cities
Glen Carbon has more crime than 6 of its 9 nearest cities. Kuhn Station and Wanda have the least crime nearby.
Empty homes, density and walkability in Glen Carbon
Two things set Glen Carbon apart: it has 2.5% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 1% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 92% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 91% 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 and assault. 95% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (7 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 86% of US city residents
Show all 6
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 Glen Carbon: D (14 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 80% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 66% 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 Glen Carbon
Crime costs Glen Carbon about $331 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 73% 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 $4.5 million a year, or $290 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$120,000
$8
Rape
$190,000
$12
Robbery
$19,000
$1
Assault
$440,000
$29
Burglary
$150,000
$10
Theft
$750,000
$49
Vehicle theft
$77,000
$5
Arson
$8,600
$1
Vandalism
$190,000
$13
Total
$2.0 million
$127
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 Glen Carbon 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 Glen Carbon, IL average a SchoolGrade of A: 55% of students test proficient, against 36% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Glen Carbon on SchoolGrade
