Chicago is a gem of a city with incredible architecture, food, museums, parks, nightlife, bookstores, and so much more. It is truly a unique place that offers such diversity in neighborhoods and experiences, bundled with Midwestern charm. And yet, tourists always pause to consider the question – Is Chicago safe to visit?
It is an absolutely fair question, and safety is the top factor that impacts our choice of destinations and our overall experience when visiting a place. It is also something that is definitely on the mind of locals as we go about living our daily lives here.
Now, before I dive into this complex answer, let me share a little about myself so you’ll understand why I’m even qualified to talk about this.
I’m a local Chicagoan who has lived in the city for 14.5 years. I arrived in Chicago in March 2011 after getting married, and my husband and I have called Chicago home ever since. Now, when I say Chicago, I’m not talking about living in the suburbs or just commuting to the city for work.
I’m talking about living within city limits in a couple of different neighborhoods for the entire time in all these years. We are constantly going out to do things and meet with friends in our neighborhood and several other neighborhoods throughout the city.
That is to say, my perspective comes from being in this city I love for practically a decade and a half. That kind of time allows you to see changing trends in everything, including crime, compare pre-COVID and post-COVID safety levels, know the first-hand experiences of your neighbors and friends, and understand things at a deeper level than a catchy Chicago news headline.
So, back to the main question.
Is Chicago safe to visit?
Yes, but with mild caution.
I love the city and everything it has to offer, but I’ve seen firsthand the unfortunate reality of crime in Chicago. I live in one of the safest neighborhoods on the north side of the city. But I’ll be honest that I’ve felt less safe in the last five-ish years than I did in the entire decade before that.
There was a time when I could walk home alone at midnight or run to the pharmacy for any urgent medication without worrying about the time. I would not do that today.
And here’s why. Before COVID, crime was often concentrated in certain neighborhoods in Chicago. Now, let me be clear. Crime in any part of a city or any neighborhood is truly unfortunate and needs to be dealt with seriously. No one should feel less safe walking around their neighborhood in the evenings, picking up their children from school, getting into their car, or even just parking on the streets. But it was a reality that we lived with and lived around, trying our best to avoid those streets and areas, especially after dark.
But something changed during COVID. Not only did the crime in these parts of the city continue to increase, but it also spilled into other parts of the city, even into areas that were previously deemed safe.
While we’ve definitely come down from the peak crime levels of the pandemic years, we still have a long way to go before we all start feeling safe as we did fifteen, ten, or even five years ago.
Please don’t think of this as me warning everyone to stay away from Chicago. If anything, I do want more people to discover the magic of Chicago and enjoy its beauty and warmth, while supporting our local businesses. But I want you to be able to do that safely and have a positive experience, so you will return home with great memories and keep returning to my city.
This brings us to the related but bigger question.
Is Chicago even worth visiting?
Absolutely, 100% yes.
I’ve lived in two countries and traveled to numerous cities and towns worldwide. But there’s a reason why my husband and I still choose to live in Chicago. We don’t have family here (although we are fortunate to have friends who are like family after all these years). The point is, we didn’t just happen to be in Chicago because we were born here or had family members.
There’s truly something special about this place for both locals and visitors.
You can walk or bike the 26 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline accessible to the public, eat your heart out at cuisines from across the globe like India, Japan, Mexico, China and more, spend an entire day lingering in the world-famous Art Institute of Chicago, marvel at the aquatic life in Shedd Aquarium, go bar-hopping or bookstore hopping depending on your interests, shop till you drop on Mag Mile, and explore the cute stores and eateries in neighborhoods like Andersonville and Lincoln Park.
There is truly something for everyone in this city. And it doesn’t matter if you are traveling solo, as a couple, or as a big family with kids and grandparents. There’s something for the baseball-lover and book-lover, nightlife-lover and nature-lover in this amazing city.
That brings me to the main point: what can visitors do to maximize their safety?
Tips to stay safe in Chicago by a local
Here is a list of safety tips and insights specifically tailored to staying safe in Chicago, although some of these can also apply to other big-city travels.
- Ditch the rental car
- Don’t carry your entire wallet around
- Download the Citizen app
- Beware of street scams
- Watch your belongings when dining outdoors
- Stay away from large groups on the streets
- Choose buses over trains after dark
- Avoid late nights or use point-to-point transportation
- Be ready with a response
Let’s dive into each of these in more detail.
1. Ditch the rental car
Carjacking is one of the most common crimes in the city. Several people I know who own a car and have parked it outside, especially overnight, have had at least one attempted carjacking incident in the last five years. Catalytic converter thefts are another common concern associated with having a car.
I know it can be hard to part with your car or not grab a rental during a trip. But trust me, a car can be a liability rather than an asset in a city like Chicago. Besides the safety factor, parking is often expensive in most places, especially in downtown and near visitor attractions.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates buses and trains throughout the city. CTA is not perfect by any means, and the service and frequency have definitely degraded since COVID, but it is still one of the most well-connected and robust public transportation systems in the country.
That, coupled with the ease and availability of Uber, Lyft, and Curb (the taxi app), makes it easy to get around with someone else doing the driving and not having to worry about the hassle of safety and parking fees.
If I still haven’t convinced you to ditch the car, at least make sure that you have a secure parking garage in the hotel or vacation rental for overnight parking.
My husband and I didn’t own a car for fourteen years in the city, and trust me, we didn’t really miss it all that much. We’d occasionally use a Zipcar or a daily rental for trips to the suburbs. But by and large, using the CTA and car-sharing apps more than covered our needs.
In fact, when we finally bought a car earlier this year, we put our names on the parking spot waitlist in our building in advance to secure a spot months before we even purchased the vehicle.
2. Don’t carry your entire wallet around
There’s little reason to go around town with your entire wallet, which contains all credit cards, all of your cash, and most importantly, your ID. Carry just one or two credit cards at the most (most places already accept mobile pay), a little cash if you feel the need, and leave the rest of your wallet behind in the hotel safe or closet.
If you do get robbed, it will be way easier to bounce back from losing one card rather than the entire wallet, including the ID that you’re gonna need to fly back home.
My husband and I started doing this when crime peaked during the pandemic. I still reassess my wallet from time to time and stick to only the essentials when I step out of the house.
3. Download the Citizen app
Awareness plays a key role in safety. The Citizen app informs you of any untoward incident happening near you and helps you stay safe.
It will use your location and send notifications of any criminal activity or police response, among other things. Users can report issues, so you will often be the first to know about a situation that is just developing.
I’ve certainly changed my plans a few times based on the notifications I’ve received. Headed for a grocery run, but a knife-wielding man is yelling at people on the way? The grocery run can wait for half an hour, and I’ll leave after that if the incident hasn’t escalated. A carjacking in progress on a nearby street? Best to wait until the cops have arrived on the scene or choose a different route.
Sure, sometimes you might see a seemingly harmless report about someone talking too loudly, but most of the time, it shows helpful information about situations as they are developing.
Being aware and informed often makes all the difference between staying safe and getting into danger.
4. Beware of street scams
Street scams show up repeatedly in my neighborhood Facebook group. The current one doing the rounds in 2025 is where a couple of young men with clipboards will approach you and ask for a donation for the funeral of a fictitious dead child.
They will ask you to use the tap-to-pay feature on your mobile wallet or log in to the bank app on your phone and hand them over the phone to enter the recipient’s details. Next thing you know, the 15 or 20 dollar donation that you were planning to make has instead turned into hundreds or thousands of dollars. And the guys who were asking for the money? Gone before you realize what just happened.
You can read some of these horror stories here.
Now these folks can get really aggressive, too. They’ve been known to be pushy and physically intimidating while asking for these said “donations”. If a good Samaritan on the street tries to warn you against handing them your phone, they are known to get angry and threaten that person with violence too.
This is, of course, only the current popular version of the scam; it might be a different one at the time of your visit. But the idea remains the same. People approaching you asking for “donations” without having any badge or having fake badges, and asking you to donate on the spot by transferring money using your phone or credit card. They’re not interested in small cash.
Do not hand over your phone to a random stranger, especially if it involves making any kind of payment.
Never stop in the first place in such a situation. If you’ve stopped and later realize where this is going, stay calm and walk away while refusing to donate. If they try to stop you from walking away or get closer, be assertive and find a different path away, whether that’s crossing the street or walking in the opposite direction.
Usually, they don’t want to attract too much attention, so if your refusal and body movements start grabbing the attention of people around you, they will eventually give up and try to find an easier target on the next street.
5. Watch your belongings when dining outdoors
Summertime means Chicago restaurants welcome patrons on their outdoor dining tables and patios, with colorful flowers and pretty treelights. Yet, space is a real challenge for many Chicago restaurants, which means that these outdoor tables are on the sidewalks, just like in many European countries.
Sidewalk dining, while great for people watching and enjoying the weather, means easy access for criminals who grab and get away with that handbag or phone lying unsupervised on the table or an empty chair.
There have been several cases of criminals grabbing valuables when they are easily accessible and the owners are easily distracted by scrumptious meals. In fact, there have even been instances in my neighborhood where criminals have actually gone inside restaurants to steal things. They will usually target the tables near the door, but there was a Facebook neighborhood group member who was once seated at the back of the restaurant with their family and still got targeted.
When dining during your visit, check to see if a restaurant has a back patio. These are secure, as you need to walk through the restaurant to get to them, so you can enjoy the weather with your meal. Or opt for indoor seating, and preferably avoid the first table by the door.
If you still end up having to take a sidewalk table, make sure your phones are away in your pockets, and your bags are tucked away under the table or close to you.
One exception to this is events like Dine on Broadway, where traffic is closed and streets are filled with dining tables for patrons to enjoy. You can let your guard down at such events, as the local Chamber of Commerce typically arranges extra security, so you don’t have to worry about dining street-side.
6. Stay away from large groups on the streets
There was an innocent time when a large group on the street meant a flash mob dance sequence, with perhaps a proposal thrown in at the end. Or a local festival and parade. Not anymore.
Like many American big cities, Chicago has seen a growing trend of mob takeovers, and especially teen takeovers, of streets. These aren’t just harmless gatherings. They have led to fighting, assaults, twerking on top of cars, and an overall environment of chaos.
The Citizen app should alert you to any disruptions by mobs in your vicinity. If you see a large group down the street, don’t assume that it is just a local event or festival. Ask a local store clerk or someone around you about what it is.
Trust your instincts, and if the group looks disruptive from a distance, try to find a way out of that place. Walk in the opposite direction or go to a nearby store or mall and wait until things calm down.
7. Choose buses over trains after dark
CTA buses are generally safer than trains, despite both experiencing an increase in crime since the pandemic. Areas around multiple train stations can be sketchy at night and are best avoided.
There’s always a driver on the bus, while train stations may not have employees at all times. I’ve definitely seen bus drivers look out for the safety of riders by asking disruptive folks to get off or riding away before someone violent gets on the bus, and calling security or police to report issues.
Stay close to the front of the bus if it’s relatively empty at night. That way, the driver can easily see if you are under stress due to a fellow passenger and take appropriate action. Don’t hesitate to raise your voice and ask for help from the driver if you need.
8. Avoid late nights or use point-to-point transportation
The irony is not lost on me that after pushing back on curfews during my teenage and early twenties, I now have a self-imposed curfew time of 10:30 pm. I make an exception now and then, but I do my best to make plans during daylight hours.
While crime has increasingly been happening in broad daylight, a lot of these muggings, assaults, and carjackings still tend to take place at night or in the early morning hours.
When planning your visit, try to complete the bulk of your sightseeing and outdoor activities during the day.
Now, I understand that we are tempted to fill every hour of the day from morning to night when traveling to a new place. If you want to grab those drinks with friends after a meal, linger over that anniversary dinner, or watch that late-night comedy show, go ahead, but use point-to-point transportation to head home afterward.
Order your Uber and wait inside the bar/restaurant/theatre until the car is right outside the door. Check the license plate before entering, no matter how many drinks you’ve had. And when you arrive at your destination, ask the driver to pull up right in front of your building, into the driveway if there’s one.
These small and simple actions can sometimes make a big difference.
9. Be ready with a response
I get it that you don’t want to be paranoid and think about the worst-case scenario from the get-go. But whether you’re traveling alone or with a group, it helps to introspect and come up with a way to deal with a bad situation from the safety of your couch rather than scrambling for a response when you are in danger.
The most common crime faced by visitors walking down the street is mugging and assault. So, try to plan what you would do if you were in that situation. This is especially important when traveling with a group, so discuss it with your companions. Because you don’t want to have one person running away, another offering up their phone, and the third trying to throw a punch, all at the same time.
Whether you choose to stand your ground and fight, use pepper spray as a deterrent, or simply surrender your valuables and try to walk away physically unharmed, I am not here to judge you.
All I’m saying is be intentional about your actions and choose the option that feels right for you, with the consequences you can live with.
You may also end up witnessing a crime even if you’re not a direct victim. It’s brave to step in and help someone in distress, but also make sure to call the police first when you’re still safely outside the situation, before getting involved.
If the crime you’re witnessing doesn’t involve a person but is package theft, smash-and-grab, or carjacking, like in this case, think through to see if you really feel the risk is worth a direct intervention.
I know that we might end up behaving very differently in reality when confronted by a criminal, no matter how much we think or plan. But it still helps to assess the risk beforehand and have a default plan of action that you and your companions can agree on.
Phew! I know that was a lot, but I hope that helps you stay safe as you plan your visit to the Windy City.
I’m sure some Chicagoans might disapprove of me writing such a post publicly. We are often conditioned to vent about these issues in private, but prefer to put up a picture-perfect image of our city on social media so as not to turn visitors away. But I find that disingenuous.
Everything I’ve mentioned above is what I tell my own family and friends when they visit the city, and I use them every day as part of my daily routine. So, I only think it’s fair that visitors are also aware and informed about these risks and can take the necessary precautions to maximize their safety.
What about you? Are you planning to visit Chicago and have questions about safety? Or have you been here before and want to share your experience? Feel free to comment below and tell us more.