North Center is a neighborhood of 9,200 residents in Chicago, about 5 miles northwest of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is North Center in Chicago safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, North Center has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 67% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A- against C+. Chicago as a whole grades F. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within North Center run from B+ to D, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 726 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
33% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than North Center as a whole, and 67% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. North Center scores 726.
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 North Center, Chicago, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in North Center in Chicago, 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 North Center
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Chicago as a whole, 69% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
Crime rates and types in North Center
CrimeGrade™ estimates North Center has about 45 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 21% more than the US as a whole and 47% less than Chicago as a whole.
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 37% of crime reported in North Center. 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.
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 Chicago
The Chicago Police Department polices North Center; these figures cover Chicago as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Chicago as a whole, 68% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (68%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (75%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (69%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (65%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Streets and sidewalks (51%)
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 North Center compares with nearby neighborhoods
North Center has the least crime of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Two things set North Center apart: it has a Walk Grade of A (85 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 15.3 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. It also combines many bars with dense blocks: places with both tend to report more assault and robbery than places with only one of them, and robbery runs high here.
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. 90% of residents here live in walkable areas.A (85 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 87% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.15.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 80% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.1.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 80% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.93% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 79% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 North Center
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs North Center about $969 a year per household, 20% 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 $7.8 million a year, or $848 per resident.
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 North Center 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
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 North Center, Chicago, IL average a SchoolGrade of B+: 53% of students test proficient, against 39% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in North Center on SchoolGrade
