Springfield is the capital of Illinois, a city of 127,000 in Sangamon County · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Springfield?
Violent crime is high in Springfield: a C+, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 86% of Americans live. Assaults make up 95% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
C+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 499 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
14% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Springfield as a whole, and 86% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Springfield scores 499.
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 Springfield, IL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Springfield, 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 Springfield
Reported rape stands out among cities graded C for violent crime. For the typical resident of a US city graded C for violent crime, the figure is 0.40 reported rapes a year per 1,000 residents; Springfield has 1.1.
One part of Springfield stands out for aggravated assault. Aggravated assaults in Harvard Park, Old Aristocracy Hill & Downtown Springfield, in central Springfield, run at about double the rate in the rest of the city.
Simple assaults run high. Springfield has simple assaults at more than triple the US rate: 38.9 a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Springfield
Violent crime changes a lot from one part of Springfield to the next: 54% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 29% live in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Springfield run from A+ to F.
54%17%29%
A or B 54%C 17%D or F 29%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Westchester, southwestRobberies run at a small fraction of the rate in the rest of Springfield.A-795
3Historic West-Side, Oaks & West Koke Mill, westAggravated assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Springfield.B675
4Oak Ridge, northwestClose to the rest of Springfield on most crimes.C+537
5Grandview & Twin Lakes, northeastClose to the rest of Springfield on most crimes.C+532
6Pillsbury & Enos Park, northAggravated assaults run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Springfield.D189
7Harvard Park, Old Aristocracy Hill & Downtown Springfield, centralRobberies run about 90% higher here than in the rest of Springfield.D-124
Neighborhood areas of Springfield, 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 Springfield?
Reported violent crime in Springfield has risen 14% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 7.9 to 9.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 14%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
SpringfieldUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Springfield. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Springfield
Violent, US
2016
+42%
+4%
2017
+34%
+4%
2018
+7%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+21%
+4%
2021
+7%
+6%
2022
-2%
+5%
2023
+0%
+2%
2024
+14%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Springfield
CrimeGrade™ estimates Springfield has about 48 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than triple the rate for the US as a whole and about triple the rate for Illinois.
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.
Simple assault is the most common violent crime in Springfield, about 82% 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 Springfield
Springfield has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Springfield, 58% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 40% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (58%)
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 Springfield and nearby cities
Springfield has the most violent crime of its 4 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Springfield. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Springfield has more violent crime than 93% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Springfield apart: it has 90 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more robbery, and it runs high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.90 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 95% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Springfield: C- (28 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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 assault. 72% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (22 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 65% of US city residents
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.7% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 68% of US city residents
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 Springfield
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Springfield about $329 million a year, or $2,593 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $88 million, or $690 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 73% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$16 million
$124
Rape
$8.0 million
$63
Robbery
$4.9 million
$39
Aggravated assault
$23 million
$182
Simple assault
$36 million
$283
Total
$88 million
$690
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.
