For your next stay in Illinois, you are wondering which neighborhoods in Chicago to avoid, the most dangerous and the best to stay in. Indeed, when you are going to stay in Chicago, it is prudent to find out in advance before choosing the neighborhood where you are going to stay.
Indeed, Chicago is a city rich in history, heritage, and culture, but it's also one of the most dangerous cities in the United States. So, if you decide to go there, here's a guide that will help you identify the best areas to stay and, more importantly, avoid the most dangerous neighborhoods.
Is Chicago dangerous in 2025?
Yes, Chicago is considered a dangerous city. This is shown in the latest Numbeo ranking of the most criminal cities of America. Chicago is ranked 9th most crime-ridden city out of the 74 largest cities in the United States.
With its very high crime rate, Chicago is more dangerous than San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Washington ou New Orleans.
See map published on the Numbeo.com website:
Au world level, Chicago is also one of the most dangerous cities in the world. But still remains much less criminal than Mexico City, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro ou Lima.
To check it for yourself, you can study the official figures on the Chicago Police Statistics Site.
It's also worth noting that Chicago's tourist attractions are generally not dangerous for visitors. Indeed, violent crime doesn't target tourists. Crime in Chicago is mostly linked to gang wars, score-settling, and drug trafficking.
However, tourists can be victims of petty crime and should therefore exercise caution.
Chicago neighborhood map
To get your bearings better, you should know that the city is divided by the Chicago River (Chicago River) and the canal (Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal). We can consider that there are 4 main areas:
- North Side (historic districts, skyscrapers and upscale districts including the Gold Coast Historic District with its luxury buildings),
- Downtown Chicago or Central Chicago (city center + business district) which includes Near North Side, Loop and Near South Side,
- West Side (many neighborhoods, some of which are sensitive such as East Garfield Park and Lawndale),
- South side : South of Downtown which is the largest area of Chicago which represents 60% of the total area of the city.
The city of Chicago is divided into 77 community zones which were defined by researchers at the University of Chicago in the 20s. These 77 zones include several neighborhoods. There are 228 of them, the complete list of which can be found on Wikipedia.
To better identify the areas to avoid that we will discuss below, here is the map of Chicago neighborhoods: Google Maps
Chicago's most dangerous neighborhoods
According to FBI statistics, the 5 most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago are:
- West Garfield Park in Zone 26 of Chicago's 77 community sectors: See location of this neighborhood
- North Lawndale adjacent to West Garfield Park, area #29 of Chicago's 77 community areas: See location of this neighborhood
- East Garfield Park adjacent to West Garfield Park and North Lawndale, East Garfield Park, Zone #27: See location of this neighborhood
- Washington park, sector no. 40: See location of this neighborhood
- West Englewood, sector no. 67: See location of this neighborhood
These 5 neighborhoods have the highest per capita rates of violent crime and property crime.
Other areas to avoid in Chicago
Less dangerous than those previously listed, here are other areas to avoid in Chicago because of their higher than average safety level:
- Riverdale (section 54)
- Grand Crossing (section 69)
- Chatham (section 44)
- Englewood other parts besides the west side (section 68)
- Burnside (section 47)
- Buses (section 50)
- south chicago (section 46)
- Fuller park (section 37)
- South Deering (section 51)
Best Neighborhoods to Stay in Chicago
Fortunately, there are many safer neighborhoods to live in Chicago. Some of the best neighborhoods most cited by Chicago real estate agencies include:
- Bridgeport
- North Center
- South shore
- Old Town
- West loop
- Lincoln park
- Lakeview
- W
- Bucktown
- Gold Coast
- Logan square
- Lincoln square
Be careful because these neighborhoods are the ones that have recorded lower crime rates than other neighborhoods in Chicago. This means that they are less dangerous but not necessarily completely safe.
Best area to visit Chicago
To visit Chicago or to spend a few days of vacation there, here is the favorite district of tourists: The Loop
The Loop neighborhood is a neighborhood of Downtown ChicAugust where are concentrated the giant skyscrapers wedged between the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.
It is in this district that you will find the most emblematic sites of Chicago:
- The Willis Tower and its 103-story Chicago Skydeck,
- the historic Chicago Theater,
- the famous Chicago Board of Trade,
- Millennium Park and its Cloud Gate sculpture better known as The Bean,
- The Art Institute of Chicago,
- the American Writers Museum.
From this district, all major attractions are within walking distance!
There is a large hotel offer in the Chicago Loop District. To choose the best location as a tourist, I recommend the hotel: EMC2 Autograph Collection
And if you're looking for cheaper accommodation, here's a good hotel that's also well placed in downtown Chicago for exploring the city on foot: Hotel to visit Chicago