How did your hometown do? Niche has released its 2026 Crime & Safety grades, using crime statistics and resident feedback to assess communities across Illinois. Several Northwest Suburbs appear in the statewide top 25 featured by Patch, including Kildeer, Tower Lakes, Hawthorn Woods and South Barrington.
Northwest-area communities in Illinois' top 25
These are the Northwest Suburbs and nearby communities within our coverage area that appeared in Patch's statewide list. This shows their individual Crime & Safety grades, rather than their overall Niche grades.
Illinois position | Community | Safety grade |
|---|---|---|
2 | Kildeer | A− |
4 | Northbrook | A− |
5 | Tower Lakes | A+ |
8 | Hawthorn Woods | A |
9 | South Barrington | A |
12 | Itasca | A− |
14 | Fox River Grove | A |
15 | Prairie Grove | A |
16 | Lakewood | A |
17 | Cary | A |
20 | Bartlett | A− |
23 | Bull Valley | A+ |
24 | Pingree Grove | A− |
25 | Huntley | A− |
Northbrook is included because it's part of our coverage area, although it's also commonly considered a North Shore suburb. The list includes smaller communities in the broader Northwest Suburbs and McHenry County area.
How did other Northwest Suburbs grade?
Here's a wider look, including larger communities that didn't appear in the statewide top 25. The grades below are Niche's Crime & Safety grades, not overall ratings.
Also worth noting: Niche currently lists the Crime & Safety grades for Long Grove and Lake Barrington as unavailable, rather than assigning either community a letter grade.
What do these grades actually mean?
Niche considers more than reported crimes. In its 2026 methodology, resident responses about how safe they feel account for 37.5% of the Crime & Safety grade. Assault, robbery, murder, burglary and other statistical measures make up the remainder.
These are composite grades and rankings, not a prediction of personal safety or a measure of current crime alone. Niche also bases its Safe Places to Live ordering on its broader Best Places to Live rankings, filtered for communities with strong safety grades. That's why a community's position on the statewide list doesn't necessarily match its letter grade.
How did your suburb do? Were you surprised by any of these grades?
