The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Hammond, IN
Hammond is the eighth-largest city in Indiana, with 69,400 residents in Lake County, about 20 miles south of downtown Chicago · Updated November 2026
Is Hammond, IN safe?
Crime in Hammond is high by national standards, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of C. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 85% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Hammond. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, B- against D+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Hammond run from B+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
C
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 405 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
15% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Hammond as a whole, and 85% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Hammond scores 405.
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 Hammond, IN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Hammond, 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 Hammond
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Hammond, 43% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
Aggravated assaults run high. Hammond has aggravated assaults at more than double the US rate: 6.0 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Hammond
Safety changes a lot from one part of Hammond to the next: 27% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 40% live in areas graded D or F. Grades across Hammond run from B+ to F; every part of Hammond has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
27%33%40%
A or B 27%C 33%D or F 40%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Forsyth Highlands, southeastThefts run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Hammond.B-606
2South Hammond, southwestAggravated assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Hammond.B-561
3Columbia Center & Calumet Center, southBurglaries run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Hammond.C+501
4Turner-Meyn Park & Forestdale, eastAggravated assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Hammond.C432
5Pulaski Park, northwestThefts run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Hammond.D+266
6North Hammond & Central Hammond, northAggravated assaults run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Hammond.D+251
Neighborhood areas of Hammond, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in Hammond?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Hammond is up 77% and property crime is down 17%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.2 to 7.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 37 to 31 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 12%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
HammondUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Hammond. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Hammond
Violent, US
Property, Hammond
Property, US
2016
+68%
+4%
-3%
+15%
2017
+52%
+4%
+6%
+12%
2018
+15%
+0%
-5%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+78%
+4%
+14%
-8%
2021
+97%
+6%
-21%
-10%
2022
+61%
+5%
-9%
-6%
2023
+59%
+2%
-9%
-7%
2024
+77%
-4%
-17%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Hammond
CrimeGrade™ estimates Hammond has about 61 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 64% more than the US as a whole and 94% more than Indiana.
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.
Theft makes up about 40% of crime reported in Hammond. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
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 Hammond Police Department counts vandalism differently from the national definition, so CrimeGrade™ makes its own vandalism estimate.
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 Hammond
Hammond has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Hammond, 65% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (65%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (36%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (43%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (43%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (60%)
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.
How Hammond compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Hammond, 7 have less crime. Munster and Highland have the least.
Night lighting, empty homes and walkability in Hammond
One thing sets Hammond apart: it has a Walk Grade of C- (30 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Even so, 57% of residents in Hammond live in car-dependent areas, where most errands take a car. Places like that tend to report more theft and assault, and they run high here.
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
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.9.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 84% 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.C- (30 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 81% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 75% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 71% 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.33% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 71% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Hammond on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Hammond
Crime costs Hammond about $2,245 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 86% more 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 $231 million a year, or $3,328 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$18 million
$257
Rape
$1.8 million
$25
Robbery
$2.1 million
$30
Assault
$20 million
$283
Burglary
$1.4 million
$20
Theft
$8.7 million
$125
Vehicle theft
$4.0 million
$57
Arson
$150,000
$2
Vandalism
$3.9 million
$56
Total
$59 million
$856
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 Hammond 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 Hammond, IN average a SchoolGrade of F: 24% of students test proficient, against 23% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Hammond on SchoolGrade
