The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in St. John, IN

St. John is a town of 21,100 in Lake County, about 30 miles south of downtown Chicago · Updated November 2026

Is St. John, IN safe?

Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and St. John has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 93% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Every neighborhood in St. John grades A+.

A+
Overall CrimeGrade™Safety score 969 of 1,000
Safer than nearly all US neighborhoods What this means

93% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than St. John as a whole, and 7% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. St. John scores 969.

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.

A+
Violent crimeSafety score 966 of 1,000Less violent crime than nearly all US neighborhoods
A+
Property crimeSafety score 973 of 1,000Less property crime than nearly all US neighborhoods

How it works


Crime map of St. John

Map of St. John shaded by overall CrimeGrade™, from green for the least crime to red for the most
Click the map to explore
F D C B A+
Highest crime Safest
Colorblind friendly off

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 St. John, IN at ISP Reports.

Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in St. John, 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 St. John

Thefts and simple assaults both run low. In St. John, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 1.4 thefts and 2.1 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 9.7 nationally.


The safest and least safe parts of St. John

Every part of St. John where people live grades A or B on the national scale.

A or B 100%

Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.

Within St. John, the west side has the least crime and the center the most.


Is crime going up in St. John?

Reported property crime in St. John has fallen 80% 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 6.7 to 1.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 27%.

Property crime, change since 2019

St. JohnUnited States

Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves St. John. The charts follow crimes per resident.

Data table
YearProperty, St. JohnProperty, US
2016+14%+15%
2017+27%+12%
2018-6%+4%
2019+0%+0%
2020-41%-8%
2021-72%-10%
2022-60%-6%
2023-72%-7%
2024-80%-15%

Crime rates and types in St. John

CrimeGrade™ estimates St. John has about 5.2 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 86% less than the US as a whole and 83% less than Indiana.

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 St. John, about 45% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.

CrimeCrimeGrade™Reported a yearPer 1,000 residentsUS per 1,000
Violent crime
MurderA+under 1under 0.010.05
RapeA+20.070.38
RobberyA+under 10.020.62
AssaultA+502.312.3
Property crime
BurglaryA+30.132.4
TheftA+301.413.1
Vehicle theftA+30.162.7
ArsonA+under 1under 0.010.12
VandalismA+221.05.5

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 St. John

St. John has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.

CrimeMost often atBusiest time
VandalismHomes (72%)Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)

Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.


How St. John compares with nearby cities

St. John has the least crime of its 10 nearest cities.

Nearby cities

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
St. JohnA+969A+A+21,100
Schererville 3 milesA920A+A29,400
Dyer 4 milesA+954A+A+23,000
Cedar Lake 5 milesA+957A+A+19,300
Sauk Village, IL 6 milesB-595B-B9,650
Show all 10
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Griffith 7 milesA875AA17,700
Merrillville 7 milesA855AA-37,700
Crown Point 7 milesA+951A+A+54,200
Crete, IL 7 milesA903AA14,500
Lynwood, IL 7 milesF0FA-8,880
Highland 7 milesA906A+A23,800

Nearest first, with each place's distance from St. John. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).

Compared with cities of similar size and density, St. John is safer than 98% of them.

Cities of similar size and density

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
St. JohnA+969A+A+21,100
Howard, WIA+940A+A+21,100
Upper St. Clair, PAA+940A+A21,000
Temple, GAA914AA21,100
Enumclaw, WAA904A+A21,100
Show all 10
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Agoura Hills, CAA893AA21,100
Bloomfield, CTA879AA-21,100
Rotterdam, NYA849AA-21,200
Semmes, ALA-835A-A-21,100
Niles, OHB+755B+B+21,100
Beaufort, SCB662B-A-21,100

Density, walkability and shops in St. John

Two things set St. John apart: it has 1% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and a Walk Grade of F (5 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less robbery and car theft.

Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 91% 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. 95% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (5 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 91% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.5.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 90% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 90% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.4 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 90% of US city residents
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 St. John: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents

BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of St. John 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 St. John

Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs St. John about $161 a year per household, 87% 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 $3.1 million a year, or $146 per resident.

How the cost breaks down
CrimeCost a yearPer resident
Murder$140,000$7
Rape$93,000$4
Robbery$11,000$1
Assault$470,000$22
Burglary$26,000$1
Theft$150,000$7
Vehicle theft$53,000$3
Arson$4,800under $1
Vandalism$160,000$7
Total$1.1 million$52

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 St. John 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. St. John is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.

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
  • Population and housing figures from the US Census Bureau
  • 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.

More about CrimeGrade™ data


Schools in St. John

Schools in St. John, IN average a SchoolGrade of A+: 56% of students test proficient, against 52% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in St. John on SchoolGrade