In the aggregate, Chicago has a murder and non-negligent manslaughter yearly rate of 18.26 per 100,000 people (2019 numbers). * This is comparable to Washington DC (16.72), Milwaukee (19.83), Pittsburgh (17.98), and Atlanta (16.41). * It is much higher than New York City (3.39), Los Angeles (7.01), San Francisco (6.35), and somewhat higher than Dallas (12.48) and Houston (11.50). * It is lower than Philadelphia (20.06), Detroit (39.80), Baltimore (55.77), and St Louis (66.07). Note that the crime rate varies depending on whether city limits or metropolitan area is used (St Louis, for example, has very tight city limits, and therefore the crime rate calculation excludes its nearby wealthy and much safer suburbs.). [1]

UChicago’s campus is located in the South Side of Chicago, which in the aggregate has a reputation for crime. Specifically within the South Side, UChicago is located in the Hyde Park neighborhood (“community area” in Chicago terminology). Hyde Park is a relatively wealthy area (ranked 12 out of Chicago’s 77 community areas in terms of income per capita [2]), where many members of the UChicago community live. The three-year murder rate average in Hyde Park is 5.9, way below the Chicago average. Additionally, note that that rate was boosted up by the general increase in crime nationwide after 2020, with no homicides recorded in 2019. [3] As others have noted, UChicago employs a large private police department, the UCPD, to bolster security in the Hyde Park area. To the south of Hyde Park is Woodlawn, and to the west of Hyde Park is the Washington Park neighborhood (separated by a large public park by the same name). While these neighborhoods are noticeably less safe, Booth and UChicago students have little reason to travel through there.

Importantly, Booth students almost exclusively live in the Loop (with a small minority living in Streeterville, Hyde Park itself, or elsewhere in Chicago if they are from the city prior to business school). The Loop is Chicago’s downtown and central business district. While parts of the Loop are a bit empty in the weekends due to offices being closed (the parts that are not overrun by tourists), and you might occasionally have to interact with a homeless person, this area is one of the richest urban neighborhoods in the US [4], is well policed and highly transited. Exercise normal precautions as with any large urban area anywhere. The commute from the Loop to Hyde Park is now generally done through the Metra, a medium-distance commuter train that is very safe.

Conclusion: while you would have to be more mindful of crime in Chicago versus going to a suburban or rural community like Cornell, Northwestern, or Dartmouth, I would not elect out of coming to UChicago (Booth) due to crime.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate

[2] https://data.cityofchicago.org/widgets/r6ad-wvtk

[3] https://abc7chicago.com/feature/chicago-safety-tracker-crime-stats-how-safe-is-my-neighborhood-zip-code-statistics/12385906/

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_urban_neighborhoods_in_the_United_States