Safest Cities in Illinois 2026
Illinois has 6 cities in our database with a statewide violent crime rate of 381.3 per 100,000 residents. The safest city is Peoria with a Safety Context Score of 77/100. All rates are per capita — never raw counts.
| # | City | Population | Violent/100K | Property/100K | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peoria | 113K | 193.5 | 1,636 | B (77) |
| 2 | Springfield | 114K | 219.5 | 1,375 | B (74) |
| 3 | Chicago | 2.7M | 372.3 | 2,023 | B (71) |
| 4 | Naperville | 150K | 442.4 | 1,427 | B (71) |
| 5 | Rockford | 149K | 504.6 | 1,288 | C (60) |
| 6 | Joliet | 150K | 623.8 | 2,037 | C (54) |
All rates per 100,000 residents. Source: FBI UCR 2023.
Crime statistics for Illinois cities are derived from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data. All figures represent per-capita rates per 100,000 residents, not raw counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on FBI crime data and our Safety Context Score, Peoria is the safest city in Illinois with a score of 77/100 (Grade B), a violent crime rate of 193.5 per 100,000, and a property crime rate of 1,636 per 100,000.
Cities are ranked using our Safety Context Score (0-100), which weighs violent crime rate vs. national average (40%), property crime rate vs. national average (30%), and 5-year trend direction (30%). All rates are per 100,000 residents — never raw counts.
Crime in Illinois has increased 0.0% over the past 5 years based on FBI data.
Safety Context Score: violent crime vs. national average (40%), property crime vs. national average (30%), 5-year trend (30%). All rates per 100,000 residents.