South Evanston is a neighborhood of 17,200 residents in Evanston, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is South Evanston in Evanston safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, South Evanston has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 68% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against C. Evanston as a whole grades A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within South Evanston run from A- to C+, so check the map below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 711 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
32% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than South Evanston as a whole, and 68% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. South Evanston scores 711.
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 Evanston, Evanston, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in South Evanston in Evanston, 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 Evanston
One weak spot: robbery. It grades B+ in South Evanston, worse than in the neighborhoods where 72% of Americans live, against A for violent crime as a whole.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Evanston as a whole, 81% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
How South Evanston compares within Evanston
Low crime is the norm across South Evanston: 94% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across South Evanston run from A- to C+; every part of South Evanston has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
94%
A or B 94%C 6%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
South Evanston has less crime than 0 of the 3 neighborhoods in Evanston. It covers much of the South Evanston area.
Is crime going up in Evanston?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Evanston as a whole is down 12%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.6 to 1.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 26 to 27 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 16% and property crime fell 14%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
EvanstonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve Evanston. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Evanston
Violent, US
Property, Evanston
Property, US
2016
+10%
+4%
-16%
+15%
2017
+4%
+4%
-10%
+12%
2018
+21%
+0%
-13%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-48%
+4%
-24%
-8%
2021
+8%
+6%
-17%
-10%
2022
+9%
+5%
-7%
-6%
2023
+6%
+2%
+18%
-7%
2024
-12%
-4%
+1%
-15%
Crime rates and types in South Evanston
CrimeGrade™ estimates South Evanston has about 48 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 29% more than the US as a whole and close to Evanston 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.
The largest share of crime reported in South Evanston is theft, about 42% 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 Evanston
The Evanston Police Department polices South Evanston; these figures cover Evanston as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Evanston as a whole, 36% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (36%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (74%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (81%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (41%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (53%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (41%)
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 South Evanston compares with nearby neighborhoods
South Evanston has less crime than 7 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Walkability, parking lots and density in South Evanston
One thing sets South Evanston apart: it has a Walk Grade of A- (72 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more theft and assault, and they run 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. 63% of residents here live in walkable areas.A- (72 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 79% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.4 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 69% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.79% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 66% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.0.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 66% 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 South Evanston
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs South Evanston about $793 a year per household, 34% 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 $10 million a year, or $600 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 South Evanston 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 Evanston, Evanston, IL average a SchoolGrade of A: 58% of students test proficient, against 37% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in South Evanston on SchoolGrade
