Oak Park, IL Crime Map

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions About Crime in Oak Park, IL

What is Oak Park's overall crime grade?

Oak Park earns an overall crime grade of B- for 2026, reflecting a community that performs meaningfully better than many comparable Illinois suburbs while still having room for improvement. With a population of approximately 52,102 and a population density of 4,280 residents per square mile, Oak Park is a moderately dense village where property crime — particularly vehicle theft and burglary — accounts for the largest share of reported incidents. Violent crime represents a smaller fraction of total offenses, and the village's low poverty rate of 7% and median household income of $96,945 correlate with the relatively stable safety profile captured in that B- grade.

How does Oak Park's crime rate compare to similar communities?

A B- crime grade puts Oak Park in the upper-middle tier among Illinois municipalities of similar size and density. Communities with comparable socioeconomic profiles — median home values near $402,509 and unemployment around 5% — often see crime rates influenced heavily by proximity to larger urban centers. Because Oak Park borders Chicago's Austin neighborhood to the east, some crime patterns do spill across that boundary, particularly property crimes like motor vehicle theft. That said, Oak Park's poverty rate of just 7% is notably low, and research consistently links lower poverty concentrations with fewer violent incidents. Residents can expect a safety environment that is measurably better than the broader Chicago metro average, though not quite at the A-tier level seen in more isolated or lower-density suburbs.

What are the safest neighborhoods in Oak Park?

Within Oak Park, the neighborhoods farthest from the Chicago border — including areas near the Ridgeland Historic District and the blocks surrounding Scoville Park in the village's interior — tend to see the lowest incident densities. The corridors near Oak Park Avenue and the residential streets west of Harlem Avenue also benefit from strong community association activity and consistent foot traffic, both of which are proven deterrents to opportunistic property crime. By contrast, blocks closer to the eastern border with Chicago and along certain stretches of Lake Street and Madison Street show higher incident concentrations on the crime map, driven largely by theft and vehicle-related offenses rather than violent crime.

What types of crime are most common in Oak Park?

Property crime dominates Oak Park's incident reports, consistent with the village's B- overall grade. Motor vehicle theft and theft from vehicles are the most frequently reported categories, followed by residential burglary and retail theft along commercial corridors like Lake Street and Oak Park Avenue. Violent crimes — including aggravated assault and robbery — occur at substantially lower rates and tend to cluster in specific micro-areas rather than being distributed evenly across the village. Vandalism and criminal damage to property round out the remaining incident types. This distribution means that for most residents in stable, interior neighborhoods, day-to-day safety concerns center on securing vehicles and homes rather than avoiding violent confrontations.

Is Oak Park a good place to live and raise a family?

By nearly every measurable indicator, yes. Oak Park's B- crime grade, combined with a median household income of $96,945, a poverty rate of just 7%, and a median home value of $402,509, paint a picture of a stable, prosperous community. The unemployment rate of 5% is modest, suggesting economic resilience that supports lower crime over time. Families are drawn to Oak Park for its nationally recognized school system, its dense concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, and its walkable downtown. The median rent of $1,213 is relatively accessible for the Chicago metro area, making the village attractive to renters as well as homeowners. While the B- grade signals that Oak Park is not crime-free — no community of 52,000 people at this density is — it does indicate that the village manages public safety more effectively than the majority of its urban neighbors.

How can I use the Oak Park crime map to make better safety decisions?

The crime map translates raw incident data into actionable geographic patterns. For Oak Park specifically, filtering the map by property crime will reveal the highest-density clusters, which tend to appear along the eastern edge of the village and near major commercial strips. Filtering for violent incidents will show a sparser, more scattered pattern, reinforcing that Oak Park's B- grade is driven more by volume of property offenses than by serious violent crime. Time-of-day filters are particularly useful here — a significant share of vehicle thefts occur overnight, so residents parking on street in higher-incident zones can use that data to decide whether to seek garage parking. Checking the map monthly rather than daily gives a clearer picture of persistent hotspots versus one-off incidents, and pairing map data with the Oak Park Police Department's official reports provides the most complete safety picture available.