Chester's overall rate of crime is sufficiently low that NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows the city to be one of the safest in both Illinois and the nation. Chester's crime rate is just 2 per 1,000 people, which means that a person's chance of becoming a victim in Chester is one in 617.

Additionally, NeighborhoodScout analyzed all cities and towns in America with a similar population size to Chester, and we found that the crime rate in Chester is one of the lowest in the nation for its size. This means Chester is one of the safest places in America in which to live for its size, a very important finding.

Now let us turn to take a look at how Chester does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Chester.

For Chester, NeighborhoodScout found that the violent crime rate is well below the national average for all communities of all population sizes. Violent crimes such as assault, rape, murder and armed robbery happen less often in Chester than in most of America. One's chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime here is one in 1130, which is a violent crime rate of 1 per one thousand inhabitants.

Furthermore, our research shows that motor vehicle theft, arson, burglary, and larceny are not very common in Chester compared to most US cities and towns. In fact, the rate of these property crimes in Chester is just 1 per one thousand people, far below the national average. Based on this rate, Chester is one of the safer communities in America with regard to incidences of property crime.