SAFEROUTE

Safety index · Chicago · data through October 2026

Is Lower West Side safe?

Lower West Side shows a typical level of reported crime for Chicago. Its SafeRoute safety index is 62 out of 100 — 5 points above the citywide median of 57, ranking 29th of 77 Chicago community areas — based on 829 incidents reported to the Chicago Police Department within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 9 months to October 2026.

62/100
Moderate
SafeRoute safety index for the area within 1 km of the center of Lower West Side — higher is safer. 29th of 77 Chicago community areas.

DATA THROUGH OCTOBER 2026 · 9 MONTHS OF DATA

The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Chicago — a typical Chicago neighborhood sits near 57. It ranks Lower West Side against other neighborhoods here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.

The largest reported category here is violent crime (27% of reports) — worth taking seriously when walking at night; the full mix is broken down below.

Incidents spread across the day here — roughly 27% of severity-weighted reports come in the evening (6 p.m.–midnight) and 24% overnight.

Where incidents cluster

South Ashland AvenueWest Cermak Road neighborhood center 500 m N ↑
1 dot = 1 report · darker = more severe · rings every 250 m from the neighborhood center829 incidents reported within 1 km of the Lower West Side center (500 shown) · Chicago PD data through October 2026 · basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors. Reports cluster toward the north of the map — the area immediately around the neighborhood center is comparatively quiet.
Open Lower West Side on the live interactive map →

What's reported here

Violent crime
222 · 27%
Other theft
203 · 24%
Criminal damage & arson
97 · 12%
Vehicle crime
78 · 9%
Public order
59 · 7%
Burglary
57 · 7%

When it happens

6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aMON–FRI6a–6p6p–12a12a–6aSAT–SUN

Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.

Is Chicago safe at night? See which neighborhoods see the most reported crime after dark →

Walking in Lower West Side at night?

SafeRoute scores every walking route against the same official crime data on this page — and shows how much of each route runs on lit streets. Compare the routes and share your walk. Free, no account.

Get SafeRoute on the App Store

Nearby areas

Common questions

Is Lower West Side safe at night?

Moderate overall (safety index 62/100). About 51% of severity-weighted incidents in Lower West Side are reported between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. At night, prefer lit, busier streets — a block or two of detour often avoids the clusters on the map above.

What is the most common crime in Lower West Side?

Violent crime — 222 of 829 incidents (27%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 9 months to October 2026.

How is the Lower West Side safety index calculated?

SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the Chicago Police Department by severity (violence weighs more than shoplifting), sums the last available period within 1 km of the neighborhood center, and normalizes against citywide crime rates onto a 0–100 scale — higher is safer. It describes reported crime only; it is not a guarantee of safety. The scale is calibrated within Chicago, so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.