Lower West Side, Chicago, IL Violent Crime Rates and Maps

C+

Violent Crime Grade	C+
Property Crime Grade	B-
Other Crime Grade	D+

Which crimes are included?

$8.55 million

Cost of Crime™ for Lower West Side, Chicago, IL

In 2025, violent crime will cost $873 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Lower West Side with the least violent crime and red marks the most, weighted by the type and severity of each offense. Violent crime concentrates where people gather after dark, near nightlife, bars, and transit, more than on residential streets. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read those hot spots.

The C+ grade reflects how often assault, robbery, rape, and murder occur in Lower West Side against the average US neighborhood, where the rate is about the same as the norm. Lower West Side sits in the 47th percentile for violent-crime safety, ahead of 47% of neighborhoods and behind 53%. The grade covers only Lower West Side's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby neighborhoods.

The violent crime rate in Lower West Side is 4.612 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the central part of the neighborhood the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 89 in the southeast areas to 1 in 268 in the central.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the central parts of Lower West Side, Chicago, IL report the most violent crime, about 21 cases per year. The southeast part reports the fewest, around 0 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Lower West Side, Chicago, IL

The tangible cost of violent crime in Lower West Side is projected at $8,550,918 for 2025, about $361 per resident and $873 per household. That equals 1.0% of the median household income, and it counts only the bills that can be totaled: emergency care, lost wages, and the justice response. The larger cost, the harm to victims, comes later on this page. These tangible costs split into:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 42.1%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 43.8%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 14.0%

How Much Does Violent Crime Cost in Lower West Side Compared to Other Neighborhoods?

Lower West Side, Chicago, IL:	$361
Englewood, Chicago, IL:	$757
O'Hare, Chicago, IL:	$166
Illinois:	$240
USA:	$258

The tangible cost of violent crime is $361 per resident each year in Lower West Side, which is $102 more than the national average and $120 more than Chicago's city average. The comparison below uses neighborhoods similar to Lower West Side:

In Englewood, Chicago, IL, crime costs $757 per person, which is $396 more than in Lower West Side.
In O'Hare, Chicago, IL, crime costs $166 per person, which is $195 less than in Lower West Side

2025 Projected Violent Crime Cost by Type

The table below breaks the violent-crime total into its four offenses for Lower West Side, with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Lower West Side	Cost per Lower West Side Resident
Murder	$4.83 million	$204
Rape/Sexual Assault	$1.04 million	$44
Robbery	$1.28 million	$54
Assault	$1.40 million	$59
Total Cost of Violent Crime	$8,550,918	$361

The Human Cost of Violent Crime in Lower West Side, Chicago, IL

Much of what violent crime costs never reaches a bill. Pain, trauma, and lost quality of life for victims and their families typically outweigh the medical and legal totals above. Research-based methods put a figure on that harm so it can be compared across places. By those methods, the human cost of violent crime in Lower West Side totals $38,021,766 ($1,604 per resident). Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $46,572,685 ($1,964 per resident). This human toll is what sets violent crime apart from property crime in Lower West Side, Chicago, IL, where the loss is mostly replaceable property. All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Violent Crime Maps

Violent crime rates are measured per resident, so places packed with visitors after dark read high even when few people live there. Bars, clubs, event venues, and transit hubs draw the crowds where assaults and robberies cluster. How strongly this shows on the map depends on the commercial base; the north part of the neighborhood has more retail establishments. A red block full of bars and venues does not mean the homes around it are dangerous.

Transit stations show the same effect: large moving crowds, few residents, so per-capita violent crime reads high. Before judging a residential street, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total count of incidents, and note what draws crowds nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Lower West Side, Chicago, IL at ISP Reports.

Lower West Side Violent Crime Breakdown

The table below shows which offenses feed the Violent Crime Grade above, each as crimes per 1,000 Lower West Side residents in a standard year.

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	2.062
Robbery	1.721
Rape	0.7202
Murder	0.1084
Total Violent Crime	4.612 (C+)

Individual Lower West Side Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Neighborhoods

Compared to surrounding neighborhoods, the rate of violent crime in Lower West Side is similar. The table below shows Crime Grades for neighborhoods close to Lower West Side.

Nearby Neighborhood	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Pilsen, Chicago, IL	C+	C+	B
University Village, Chicago, IL	C-	C	C-
Locks, Chicago, IL	B-	B-	B+
Claremont Cottages, Chicago, IL	D+	C-	C-
Bohemian California, Chicago, IL	C+	C+	B
Near West Side, Chicago, IL	D	C-	D+
Mount Pleasant, Chicago, IL	C+	B-	C+
Ducktown, Chicago, IL	B	B+	B+
Bridgeport, Chicago, IL	B-	B-	B+
Armour Square, Chicago, IL	C-	C	C

Crime Maps and Rates for Neighborhood with Similar Populations

Lower West Side is similar versus other neighborhoods of the same size for violent crime. The table below compares crime in neighborhoods with comparable overall population in the neighborhood‘s boundaries.

Similar Neighborhood	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
San Luis Rey, Oceanside, CA	B	A-	A-
Highland Park, Los Angeles, CA	B+	C+	C+
Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles, CA	D	D-	D-
Hunts Point, Bronx, NY	C+	D+	D+
Kalihi Valley, Honolulu, HI	A+	A+	A+
Maplewood-Ashcreek, Portland, OR	C+	B+	B+
Airport, Honolulu, HI	B-	A	A
Mountain View, El Monte, CA	B	B-	B-
Nob Hill, San Francisco, CA	D-	D-	D-
Noe Valley, San Francisco, CA	C-	C-	C-

Considering only the violent crime rate, Lower West Side is less safe than the Illinois state average and less safe than the national average.

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.