The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Macon County, IL
Macon County is home to 101,800 residents and includes Decatur and Mount Zion · Updated November 2026
Is Macon County, IL safe?
Yes, crime in Macon County is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Macon County sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 47% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A- here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Macon County run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 821 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
47% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Macon County as a whole, and 53% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Macon County scores 821.
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 Macon County, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Macon 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 Macon County
Burglary stands out among A-graded counties. For the typical resident of an A-graded US county, the figure is 1.4 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; Macon County has 7.6.
Arson at more than double the US rate. Macon County has 0.33 arsons a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.12 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Macon County
Most of Macon County grades well: 81% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 11% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Macon County run from A+ to F; 50% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
81%11%
A or B 81%C 8%D or F 11%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Macon 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 southwest side has the least crime and the Decatur area the most.
Is crime going up in Macon County?
Reported violent crime in Macon County peaked in 2021 and has fallen 25% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is up 3% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.2 to 4.6 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 23 to 24 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime rose 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Macon CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Macon County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Macon County
Violent, US
Property, Macon County
Property, US
2016
-3%
+4%
+21%
+15%
2017
+14%
+4%
+17%
+12%
2018
+13%
+0%
+6%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+24%
+4%
-3%
-8%
2021
+46%
+6%
-9%
-10%
2022
+23%
+5%
-11%
-6%
2023
+19%
+2%
-8%
-7%
2024
+9%
-4%
+3%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Macon County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Macon County has about 49 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 31% more than the US as a whole and close to 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 Macon County is assault, about 33% 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 Macon County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Macon County, 2022 to 2024.
In Macon County, 57% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 40% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (57%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (47%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (54%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (52%)
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 Macon County compares with nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Macon County, 9 have less crime. Shelby County and Piatt County have the least.
Empty homes, transit and walkability in Macon County
Two things set Macon County apart: it has 12.1% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 4% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson, and they run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.12.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 92% of Americans
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 Macon County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% 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. 83% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (14 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 62% of Americans
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.4% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 83% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 69% of Americans
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.82% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 59% 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 Macon County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Macon County about $1,282 a year per household, 6% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $57 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $168 million a year, or $1,647 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$8.6 million
$84
Rape
$2.6 million
$26
Robbery
$2.0 million
$20
Assault
$19 million
$188
Burglary
$7.0 million
$69
Theft
$6.5 million
$64
Vehicle theft
$4.5 million
$45
Arson
$820,000
$8
Vandalism
$5.8 million
$57
Total
$57 million
$561
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 Macon 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 Macon County, IL average a SchoolGrade of D+: 35% of students test proficient, against 22% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Macon County on SchoolGrade
