The Most Murderous Neighborhood In Chicago

After last Friday’s article on the safest neighborhoods in Chicago, Ward Room got to wondering about the other end of the spectrum: the most violent neighborhoods in Chicago.

So we calculated the murder rate per 100,000 for all 77 Chicago community areas, using the number of homicides since 2007. The figures are an average for the last six years.

The highest murder rate belongs to a place you may not have heard of: Burnside, which is bounded on the north by 87th Street, on the south by 95th Street, on the west by the Metra Electric Line, and on the east by a railroad freight line. Burnside has experienced only 15 homicides in the last six years, but with 2,916 residents, it is the city’s second least populous community area. (For a comprehnsive look at everyone who was shot and killed in Chicago in 2012, check out DNAInfo.com/chicago.)

Here’s a list of the number of homicides, the population, and the murder rate for every community area. In 2012, the citywide murder rate was 19.7. 
 
  1. Burnside 15/2,916=85.9
  2. West Garfield Park 92/18,001=85.2
  3. Washington Park 54/11,717=76.9
  4. Greater Grand Crossing 135/32,606 = 69
  5. Englewood 125/30,654=67.8
  6. Riverdale 26/6,482=66.7
  7. West Englewood 140/35,505=65.7
  8. East Garfield Park 60/20,567=48.5
  9. North Lawndale 98/35,912=45.4
  10. Roseland 114/44,619=42.9
  11. Humboldt Park 139/56,323=41.1 
  12. South Chicago 76/31,198=40.6 
  13. Fuller Park 7/2,876=40.5
  14. Woodlawn 61/25,983=39.1
  15. Grand Boulevard 51/21,929=38.8 
  16. Chatham 71/31,028=38.2 
  17. South Shore 111/49,767=37.1 
  18. West Pullman 66/29,651=37.0 
  19. Auburn Gresham 105/48,743=35.9 
  20. New City 94/44,377=35.3
  21. Austin 202/98,514=34.2
  22. South Deering 29/15,109=32.0
  23. Chicago Lawn 102/55,262=30.7
  24. Washington Heights 46/26,493=28.9
  25. Avalon Park 14/10,185=22.9
  26. Calumet Heights 19/13,812=22.9
  27. Morgan Park 30/22,544=22.2
  28. Pullman 9/7,325=20.5
  29. South Lawndale 97/79,288=20.2 
  30. Oakland 7/5,918=19.7
  31. Gage Park 46/39,894=19.3
  32. Near West Side 60/54,881=18.2 
  33. Brighton Park 43/45,368=15.8
  34. Lower West Side 31/35,798=14.4
  35. McKinley Park 12/15,612=12.8
  36. Archer Heights 9/13,393=11.3
  37. Hermosa 17/25,010=11.3
  38. Kenwood 12/17,841=11.2
  39. Douglas 12/18,238=11.0
  40. Ashburn 24/41,081=9.7
  41. West Town 43/81,432=8.8
  42. Bridgeport 16/31,925=8.4
  43. Rogers Park 24/54,991=7.3
  44. Uptown 24/56,326=7.1
  45. Albany Park 22/51,542=7.1
  46. Hegewisch 4/9,426=7.1
  47. Avondale 15/39,262=6.4
  48. Armour Square 5/13,391=6.2
  49. East Side 8/23,042=6.0
  50. West Elsdon 6/18,109=5.8
  51. Logan Square 23/73,595=5.2
  52. Belmont Cragin 24/78,743=5.1
  53. Edgewater 17/56,521=5.0
  54. Montclare 4/13,426=5.0
  55. West Lawn 10/33,355=5.0
  56. West Ridge 21/71,942=4.9
  57. Near South Side 6/21,390=4.7
  58. Garfield Ridge 9/34,513=4.3
  59. Near North Side 19/80,484=3.9
  60. Irving Park 13/53,359=4.1
  61. Hyde Park 6/25,681=3.9
  62. Clearing 5/23,193=3.6
  63. Loop 6/29,283=3.4
  64. Portage Park 11/64,124=2.9
  65. Jefferson Park 4/25,448=2.6
  66. Dunning 6/41,932=2.4
  67. Lake View 11/94,368=1.9
  68. North Park 2/17,931=1.9
  69. Norwood Park 4/37,023=1.8
  70. Beverly 2/20,034=1.7
  71. Lincoln Square 4/39,493=1.7
  72. Lincoln Park 6/64,116=1.6
  73. O’Hare 1/12,756=1.3
  74. North Center 2/31,876=1.0
  75. Forest Glen 1/18,508=0.9
  76. Edison Park 0/11,187=0
  77. Mount Greenwood 0/19,093=0
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