Hammond is the eighth-largest city in Indiana, with 69,400 residents in Lake County, about 20 miles south of downtown Chicago · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Hammond?
Violent crime is high in Hammond: a D+, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 91% of Americans live. Assaults make up 93% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
D+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 283 of 1,000More violent crime than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
9% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Hammond as a whole, and 91% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Hammond scores 283.
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 Hammond, IN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Hammond, 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 Hammond
Aggravated assault at more than double the US rate. Hammond has 6.0 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Hammond
In Hammond, 18% of residents live in areas graded A or B for violent crime, 35% in areas graded C and 47% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Hammond run from B+ to F.
18%35%47%
A or B 18%C 35%D or F 47%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Forsyth Highlands, southeastAggravated assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Hammond.B-545
2South Hammond, southwestAggravated assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Hammond.C+520
3Columbia Center & Calumet Center, southClose to the rest of Hammond on most crimes.C433
4Turner-Meyn Park & Forestdale, eastAggravated assaults run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Hammond.C-339
5Pulaski Park, northwestAggravated assaults run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Hammond.D-106
6North Hammond & Central Hammond, northAggravated assaults run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Hammond.F40
Neighborhood areas of Hammond, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is violent crime going up in Hammond?
Reported violent crime in Hammond has risen 77% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.2 to 7.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 12%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
HammondUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Hammond. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Hammond
Violent, US
2016
+68%
+4%
2017
+52%
+4%
2018
+15%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+78%
+4%
2021
+97%
+6%
2022
+61%
+5%
2023
+59%
+2%
2024
+77%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Hammond
CrimeGrade™ estimates Hammond has about 23 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 70% more than the US as a whole and 79% more than Indiana.
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 Hammond, about 93% 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 Hammond
Hammond has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Hammond, 60% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 41% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (60%)
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 Hammond and nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Hammond, 8 have less violent crime. Munster and Highland have the least.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Hammond apart: it has a Walk Grade of C- (30 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Even so, 57% of residents in Hammond live in car-dependent areas, where most errands take a car. Places like that tend to report more assault, and it 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 assault.C- (30 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 81% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.33% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 71% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.35 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 62% of US city residents
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Hammond: F (3 of 100).1 trips an hourUS: noneLower than for 55% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Hammond 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 violent crime costs Hammond
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Hammond about $213 million a year, or $3,064 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $41 million, or $595 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 81% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$18 million
$257
Rape
$1.8 million
$25
Robbery
$2.1 million
$30
Assault
$20 million
$283
Total
$41 million
$595
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
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.
