We used data and science to identify the most dangerous cities in the Prairie State for 2020.

This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. It is our fifth time ranking the most dangerous places to live in Illinois and is updated for 2020.

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We have proof that there’s a lot of ‘noise’ in Illinois in terms of its most dangerous cities.

Gone are the days that parents can let their children run wild until the street lights come on. Heck, parents shouldn’t let their kids out of their sight in our most dangerous cities in Illinois for 2020. How does one navigate these dangerous cities when trying to make an informed decision on what city you should call home? We did the work for you. In order to compile our list, we looked at violent crimes and property crimes in cities with a minimum population of 5,000. Folks, the cities that made our list have robberies happening in broad daylight, car jackings, and daily shootings. There are neighborhoods in these cities that you shouldn’t drive thru at all and there are areas that you definitely shouldn’t be in after dark.

We’re not saying that there aren’t little pockets of goodness in these cities. The neighborhoods and shopping centers in these Illinois cities are not ALL bad. For example, Chicago isn’t nearly as bad as certain people would have you believe. We do recommend that you spend some time studying them before you make a move. If you choose one of these cities, you’re going to have to be aware of your surroundings at all times: there are a ton of ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’ out there.

It’s not entirely Illinois’ fault. They are the sixth largest state in terms of population. As with most situations, there’s bound to be problems with that many people. On a positive note, there are people out there coming together to combat the problems that these Illinois’ cities are facing. And, thankfully, some of the programs are actually winning. To see where these Illinois cities with all the problems are located, take a look below at our most dangerous cities in Illinois for 2020.

What are the circumstances that make these Illinois cities this way? Maybe not enough jobs, low wages, people just don’t want to work, prisons, drugs, gangs, close to larger cities that push their problems onto surrounding cities?

We’re not entirely sure. But one thing we are sure about is our number one most dangerous city in Illinois is Mount Vernon.

The Illinois cities on our most dangerous list could definitely use some TLC. If you’re looking to be that diamond in the rough, or you’re just curious to see if your city made the list, take a look at our list below. And if you don’t see your city there, head to the bottom.

Learn more about the safest places in Illinois.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the most dangerous cities in America or the most dangerous states in America.

For more Illinois reading, check out:

Next 10 Cities

Graphing The Most Dangerous And Safest Places In Illinois

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How we determined the most dangerous cities in Illinois for 2020?

Every year the FBI release two crime datasets, a preliminary dataset limited to the biggest cities in the country, followed by a more detailed release at the end of the year.

For our analysis, we focused on the JUST released 2018 data, specifically the 2018 Crime In The United States Report. We will update the results when data becomes available in September 2020.

So what criteria did we use? Have a look:

Violent Crimes Per Capita

Property Crimes Per Capita

In order to make the analysis as apples to apples as possible, we only considered Illinois cities over 5,000 in population. That left us with 285 cities in Illinois.

We then ranked each city from 1 to 285 for the two criteria with a #1 ranking being the most dangerous for the particular criteria.

Next, we averaged the two rankings into one “Dangerous Index”.

Finally, we ranked every city on the “Dangerous Index” with the lowest index being the most dangerous in Illinois — Mount Vernon. Any ties went to the smaller city. You can download the data here.

Read on for a detailed look at the 10 most dangerous cities in Illinois.

Locking It All Up In Illinois

The latest FBI crime data shows that Mount Vernon ranks as the most dangerous city in Illinois for 2020.

We want to point out again that there’s still safes places in Mount Vernon and that this isn’t a comment on the people that live there. So please don’t beat us up.

If you’re curious enough, here are the safest cities in Illinois:

Manhattan (Pop. 7,879) Campton Hills (Pop. 11,305) Elburn (Pop. 5,900)

For more Illinois reading, check out:

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