Chatham is a neighborhood of 18,100 residents in Chicago, about 10 miles south of downtown · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Chatham?
Violent crime is high in Chatham: an F, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 99% of Americans live. Assaults make up 87% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury. Chicago as a whole grades D- for violent crime.
F
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000More violent crime than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
1% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Chatham as a whole, and 99% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Chatham scores 0.
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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Chatham, Chicago, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Chatham 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 about violent crime in Chatham
Aggravated assaults are less common than in most neighborhoods graded F for violent crime. Chatham has 2.8 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a US neighborhood graded F for violent crime, the figure is 9.5.
Robberies and simple assaults both run high. In Chatham, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 8.0 robberies and 60.4 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 and 9.7 nationally.
How Chatham compares within Chicago
Every part of Chatham grades D or F for violent crime on the national scale.
100%
D or F 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Chatham has less violent crime than 26 of the 135 neighborhoods in Chicago. It covers much of the Roseland, South Shore, and Woodlawn areas.
Is violent crime going up in Chicago?
Reported violent crime in Chicago as a whole has fallen 45% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 9.5 to 5.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
ChicagoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve Chicago. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Chicago
Violent, US
2016
+17%
+4%
2017
+16%
+4%
2018
+7%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+2%
+4%
2021
-40%
+6%
2022
-44%
+5%
2023
-38%
+2%
2024
-45%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Chatham
CrimeGrade™ estimates Chatham has about 73 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than triple the rate for the US as a whole and about double the rate for Chicago as a whole.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Chatham, about 87% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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 violent crime happens in Chicago
The Chicago Police Department polices Chatham; these figures cover Chicago as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Chicago as a whole, 32% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 65% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
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.
Violent crime in Chatham and nearby neighborhoods
Chatham has less violent crime than 7 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Chatham apart: it has 13 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 29 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places with few jobs tend to report less robbery, yet robbery runs higher here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.13 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 83% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Chatham: C+ (40 of 100).29 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 78% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 assault.B- (52 of 100)US: 21Higher 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.0.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Lower than for 61% 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 violent crime costs Chatham
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Chatham about $140 million a year, or $7,706 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $31 million, or $1,682 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
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.
