The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in South Elgin, IL
South Elgin is a village of 25,800 in Kane County, about 35 miles west of downtown Chicago · Updated November 2026
Is South Elgin, IL safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in South Elgin is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so South Elgin sits near the middle: 60% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 40% in neighborhoods with less. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within South Elgin run from A+ to B+, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 878 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
60% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than South Elgin as a whole, and 40% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. South Elgin scores 878.
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 South Elgin, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in South Elgin, 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 South Elgin
Reported rape is the exception. South Elgin grades A for violent crime, but reported rape grades B, worse than in the neighborhoods where 81% of Americans live.
Thefts and burglaries both run low. In South Elgin, each runs at less than half the US rate: 4.8 thefts and 0.90 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 2.4 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of South Elgin
Every part of South Elgin where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across South Elgin run from A+ to B+; 88% 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 South Elgin, the south side has the least crime and the north side the most.
Is crime going up in South Elgin?
Reported property crime in South Elgin has risen 56% 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 4.4 to 6.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
South ElginUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves South Elgin. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, South Elgin
Property, US
2016
+174%
+15%
2017
+92%
+12%
2018
-1%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+14%
-8%
2021
+0%
-10%
2022
+21%
-6%
2023
+45%
-7%
2024
+56%
-15%
Crime rates and types in South Elgin
CrimeGrade™ estimates South Elgin has about 21 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 43% less than the US as a whole and 50% 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 South Elgin is assault, about 48% 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 South Elgin
South Elgin has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In South Elgin, 42% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 54% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (42%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Homes (42%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (54%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Vandalism
Other places (32%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How South Elgin compares with nearby cities
South Elgin has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest cities. Campton Hills and Wayne have the least crime nearby.
Empty homes, parking lots and walkability in South Elgin
Two things set South Elgin apart: it has 0.5% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 2.9 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places with few empty homes tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.0.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.9 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 83% 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. 88% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (14 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 64% of US city residents
Show all 6
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 77% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.32 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 67% 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.9% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 63% 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 South Elgin
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs South Elgin about $634 a year per household, 47% 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 $14 million a year, or $541 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$180,000
$7
Rape
$720,000
$28
Robbery
$56,000
$2
Assault
$2.6 million
$99
Burglary
$210,000
$8
Theft
$640,000
$25
Vehicle theft
$300,000
$12
Arson
$19,000
$1
Vandalism
$710,000
$28
Total
$5.4 million
$209
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 South Elgin 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 South Elgin, IL average a SchoolGrade of A-: 55% of students test proficient, against 36% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in South Elgin on SchoolGrade
