The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Highland Park, IL
Highland Park is a city of 29,100 in Lake County, about 20 miles northwest of downtown Chicago · Updated November 2026
Is Highland Park, IL safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Highland Park: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 78% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 932 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
78% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Highland Park as a whole, and 22% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Highland Park scores 932.
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 Highland Park, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Highland Park, 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 Highland Park
Thefts from cars happen in the morning far more often than nationally. In Highland Park, 51% of reported thefts from cars happen in the morning (6 am to noon), against 23% nationally.
Simple assault runs low. Highland Park has 3.2 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 9.7.
The safest and least safe parts of Highland Park
Every part of Highland Park where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Highland Park run from A+ to A; every part of Highland Park has 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.
Within Highland Park, the southeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Highland Park?
Reported property crime in Highland Park has risen 15% 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 7.0 to 8.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 18%.
Property crime, change since 2019
Highland ParkUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Highland Park. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Highland Park
Property, US
2016
+28%
+15%
2017
+64%
+12%
2018
-4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-3%
-8%
2021
-7%
-10%
2022
+68%
-6%
2023
+40%
-7%
2024
+15%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Highland Park
CrimeGrade™ estimates Highland Park has about 14 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 62% less than the US as a whole and 66% 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 Highland Park is theft, about 47% 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 Highland Park
Highland Park has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Highland Park, 73% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (73%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (41%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (35%)
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 Highland Park compares with nearby cities
Highland Park has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest cities. Bannockburn and Lake Forest have the least crime nearby.
Shops, night lighting and walkability in Highland Park
One thing sets Highland Park apart: it has 7 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.14.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 83% 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 80% 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. 81% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (21 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 63% 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 Highland Park: D (16 of 100).7 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 76% 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.8% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 64% 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.4.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 61% 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 Highland Park
Crime costs Highland Park about $346 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 71% 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 $9.5 million a year, or $328 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$540,000
$18
Rape
$340,000
$12
Robbery
$16,000
$1
Assault
$860,000
$30
Burglary
$180,000
$6
Theft
$1.0 million
$35
Vehicle theft
$280,000
$10
Arson
$15,000
$1
Vandalism
$540,000
$18
Total
$3.8 million
$130
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 Highland Park 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 Highland Park, IL average a SchoolGrade of A+: 76% of students test proficient, against 60% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Highland Park on SchoolGrade
