Lyons is a village of 10,500 in Cook County, about 11 miles southwest of downtown Chicago · Updated November 2026
Is Lyons, IL safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Lyons is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Lyons sits near the middle: 52% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 48% in neighborhoods with less. 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 847 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
52% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Lyons as a whole, and 48% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Lyons scores 847.
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 Lyons, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Lyons, 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 Lyons
Thefts are uncommon. Lyons has thefts at about half the US rate: 6.4 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Lyons
Every part of Lyons where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Lyons run from A to A-; 91% 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.
Within Lyons, the southwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Lyons
CrimeGrade™ estimates Lyons has about 27 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 28% less than the US as a whole and 37% 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 Lyons, 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 Lyons Police Department sent the FBI no usable 2024 counts of burglary, theft and vehicle theft, so CrimeGrade™ built the figures from the department's own reports for recent years, brought up to 2024. The department sent the FBI no 2024 count of simple assault and no recent year to build on, so CrimeGrade™ made its own estimate. The department reports to the FBI in a format that leaves out vandalism, 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.
How Lyons compares with nearby cities
Of the 8 cities closest to Lyons, 5 have less crime. Forest View and Stickney have the least.
Two things set Lyons apart: it has a Walk Grade of B- (50 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 54% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and assault, and assault runs 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
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.B- (50 of 100)US: 21Higher 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.54% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 85% 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.7.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 81% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.30 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 71% 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.7.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 67% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Lyons 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 Lyons
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Lyons about $611 a year per household, 49% 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 $5.5 million a year, or $521 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$180,000
$18
Rape
$120,000
$11
Robbery
$110,000
$10
Assault
$1.1 million
$100
Burglary
$100,000
$10
Theft
$340,000
$33
Vehicle theft
$130,000
$13
Arson
$17,000
$2
Vandalism
$480,000
$46
Total
$2.5 million
$242
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 Lyons 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 Lyons, IL average a SchoolGrade of B: 48% of students test proficient, against 26% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Lyons on SchoolGrade
