IL
Northwestern University
6.50 incidents / 1,000 students
Evanston, IL · Clery Act 2024 · Private Nonprofit
Northwestern University
Across 2022–2024, Northwestern University reported 303 incidents in the Clery Criminal Offenses section, and the yearly count rose over that span (largest filed category: Motor Vehicle Theft). Nearby same-state same-level comparison: Illinois State University.
- 6.50
- Incidents / 1k students
- #1,756
- Rank of 2,072
- #106
- IL rank
- 23,856
- Enrolled students
6.50 reported score-category incidents per 1,000 students
Northwestern University reports 6.50 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 - 157% above Wayne State University. Similar-enrollment scored peers: Wayne State University (2.31/1k); St Petersburg College (0.00/1k); Old Dominion University (3.92/1k); Des Moines Area Community College (0.00/1k); West Virginia University (6.43/1k). Same-state same-level set also includes Illinois State University (3.20/1k); DePaul University (2.07/1k); University of Chicago (3.72/1k); Loyola University Chicago (2.36/1k); DeVry University-Illinois (0.00/1k); Northern Illinois University (9.60/1k); Chamberlain University-Illinois (0.00/1k); University of Illinois Chicago (6.87/1k). Largest Criminal Offenses total across filed years: Motor Vehicle Theft.
Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey
- incidents / 1,000 students
- 6.50
- of 2,072 ranked nationally
- #1,756
- report fewer incidents than this campus
- 85%
- Criminal Offenses, 2024
- 136
Source: U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey
Data updated August 2026
Clery Act plate
Sheet 147767 · Northwestern University 6.50/1k score rate · #1,756/2,072
RATE-HOT · RANK-BOTTOM · ST-MID · PEER-FINISH · ZERO-NONE · TREND-UP · CAT-LEAD · ENR-LARGE · FIRE-ZERO
- RATE-HOT 6.50/1k
- RANK-BOTTOM #1,756/2,072
- ST-MID #106 in state
- PEER-FINISH West Virginia University · ±0.07
- ZERO-NONE Scored
- TREND-UP ↑ 289%
- CAT-LEAD Motor Vehicle Th…
- ENR-LARGE 23,856
- FIRE-ZERO 0 fires filed
Nearest enrollment peer: West Virginia University (-0.07/1k)
Northwestern University sheet RATE-HOT · RANK-BOTTOM · ST-MID · PEER-FINISH · ZERO-NONE · TREND-UP · CAT-LEAD · ENR-LARGE · FIRE-ZERO · peer West Virginia University. Codes from this campus OPE filing: score-category rate, national/state rank, named enrollment peer, zero posture, Criminal Offenses trend, lead category, enrollment band, fire filing. Not a moving recommendation.
Clery plate RATE-HOT · RANK-BOTTOM · ST-MID · PEER-FINISH · ZERO-NONE · TREND-UP · CAT-LEAD · ENR-LARGE · FIRE-ZERO. Nearest similar-enrollment peer is West Virginia University (-0.07/1k). National rank #1,756 of 2,072 scored campuses. Instrument codes from this campus OPE sheet; compare similarly sized peers before treating any single rate as decisive.
Northwestern University reports 6.50 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 - 157% above Wayne State University. Similar-enrollment scored peers: Wayne State University (2.31/1k); St Petersburg College (0.00/1k); Old Dominion University (3.92/1k); Des Moines Area Community College (0.00/1k); West Virginia University (6.43/1k). Same-state same-level set also includes Illinois State University (3.20/1k); DePaul University (2.07/1k); University of Chicago (3.72/1k); Loyola University Chicago (2.36/1k); DeVry University-Illinois (0.00/1k); Northern Illinois University (9.60/1k); Chamberlain University-Illinois (0.00/1k); University of Illinois Chicago (6.87/1k). Largest Criminal Offenses total across filed years: Motor Vehicle Theft.
Peer-rate neighbourhood around Northwestern University
Lowest/highest enrollment peers plus campuses nearest Northwestern on score-category rate. Full ladder: /rankings/safest-campuses.
- St Petersburg College · lowest peer 0
St Petersburg College — lowest peer
0 per 1,000 students
- Wayne State University · near 2.31
Wayne State University — near
2.31 per 1,000 students
- Old Dominion University · near
Old Dominion University — near
3.92 per 1,000 students
- West Virginia University · near
West Virginia University — near
6.43 per 1,000 students
- Northwestern University · this campus · highest
Northwestern University — this campus · highest
6.5 per 1,000 students
What this shows Neighbourhood of similar-enrollment peers around Northwestern University's 6.50/1k rate, not a full-corpus distribution reprint.
Reporting-period change
What changed in 2024
Northwestern University increased from 132 to 136 reported on-campus incidents between the 2023 and 2024 reporting years in the U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey.
This is a change in reported incidents, not a measure of individual safety. Enrollment, reporting practice, and category coverage can affect the count.
See national reporting-year changesSignature insight · size does not equal danger
Campus size vs reported safety rate
Among 37 IL 4-year peers in this comparison, Northwestern University is larger than 92% and safer-reporting than 8% - the larger, higher-reporting quadrant. Axes are within-sample percentiles so outliers share the same frame; a higher safety percentile means a lower Clery incidents-per-1,000 rate.
Read the chart as text
- Point 1: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 89, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 42
- Point 2: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 86, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 50
- Point 3: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 83, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 28
- Point 4: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 81, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 47
- Point 5: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 94, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 92
- Point 6: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 78, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 3
- Point 7: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 97, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 92
- Point 8: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 100, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 6
- Point 9: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 75, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 69
- Point 10: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 72, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 36
- Point 11: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 69, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 92
- Point 12: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 67, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 67
- Point 13: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 64, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 22
- Point 14: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 61, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 72
- Point 15: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 58, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 31
- Point 16: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 56, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 81
- Point 17: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 53, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 61
- Point 18: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 50, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 39
- Point 19: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 47, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 17
- Point 20: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 44, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 58
- Point 21: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 42, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 53
- Point 22: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 39, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 89
- Point 23: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 36, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 78
- Point 24: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 33, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 25
- Point 25: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 31, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 19
- Point 26: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 28, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 56
- Point 27: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 25, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 86
- Point 28: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 22, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 33
- Point 29: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 19, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 83
- Point 30: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 17, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 44
- Point 31: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 14, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 64
- Point 32: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 11, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 11
- Point 33: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 8, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 0
- Point 34: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 6, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 14
- Point 35: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 3, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 92
- Point 36: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 0, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 75
- Northwestern University: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 92, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 8
Read the chart as a table
| Campus | Enrollment | Rate / 1k | Size pct | Safety pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Park University | 2,557 | 0.78 | 0 | 75 |
| Midwestern University-Downers Grove | 2,567 | 0.00 | 3 | 92 |
| Augustana College | 2,570 | 5.84 | 6 | 14 |
| Rush University | 2,769 | 15.89 | 8 | 0 |
| Wheaton College | 2,874 | 6.26 | 11 | 11 |
| Benedictine University | 2,917 | 1.37 | 14 | 64 |
| North Central College | 3,003 | 3.00 | 17 | 44 |
| University of St Francis | 3,074 | 0.65 | 19 | 83 |
| Olivet Nazarene University | 3,339 | 3.59 | 22 | 33 |
| School of the Art Institute of Chicago | 3,394 | 0.29 | 25 | 86 |
| Saint Xavier University | 3,485 | 1.72 | 28 | 56 |
| Northwestern University (this campus) | 23,856 | 6.50 | 92 | 8 |
Sample of 12 campuses from the plot (sorted by enrollment). Source: U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey + IPEDS enrollment. Rate = on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students; lower is safer-reporting, not a personal-risk forecast.
Enrollment scale
How campus size shapes the safety figures
With 23,856 enrolled students, Northwestern University is the 156th largest of the 5,585 institutions in this dataset with a reported enrollment, ahead of 5,429 of them. Closest same-state same-level scored peers by enrollment: Illinois State University (3.20/1k); DePaul University (2.07/1k); University of Chicago (3.72/1k); Loyola University Chicago (2.36/1k); DeVry University-Illinois (0.00/1k); Northern Illinois University (9.60/1k); Chamberlain University-Illinois (0.00/1k); University of Illinois Chicago (6.87/1k). The score above normalizes 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students, so compare it with similarly sized campuses instead of treating a higher raw count as evidence that a campus is less safe (Wayne State University is the nearest similar-enrollment comparison on this profile).
What changed between 2023 and 2024
Reported on-campus incidents at Northwestern University rose from 132 to 136 (+3%). The increase shows up in Fondling (3 to 11), Arson (0 to 3) and Motor Vehicle Theft (103 to 106). Falling over the same period: Burglary (19 to 10), Rape (5 to 3) and Robbery (1 to 0).
This describes reported incidents, not crime. Clery counts move with reporting policy, awareness campaigns and how a campus staffs its security authorities, so a rise can reflect better capture of reports and a fall can reflect worse capture. One year of movement at a single campus is not a trend.
What actually gets reported at Northwestern University
Across 3 reporting years, on-campus incidents were recorded in 7 Clery Act categories here: Motor Vehicle Theft, Burglary, Fondling, Rape, Aggravated Assault, Arson and Robbery. Motor Vehicle Theft accounts for most of them.
The remaining 4 categories were reported with no on-campus incidents, Incest, Murder / Non-Negligent Manslaughter, Negligent Manslaughter and Statutory Rape. Under the Clery Act that zero is an affirmative report that nothing in the category occurred, not an absence of data, which is why the table below lists those rows rather than dropping them.
Counts describe incidents reported under the Clery Act for the on-campus geography. Reporting practice varies between institutions, so counts are not a direct measure of relative safety.
Crime Statistics by Year
11 categories 3 reporting years on-campus onlyNorthwestern University: Criminal Offenses by year
Rising 289% (35 → 136 incidents)
Read the chart as text
| Period | On-campus incidents |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 35 |
| 2023 | 132 |
| 2024 | 136 |
| Crime Type | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 106 | 103 | 21 |
| Burglary | 10 | 19 | 3 |
| Fondling | 11 | 3 | 3 |
| Rape | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| Aggravated Assault | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Arson | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Robbery | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Incest | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murder / Non-Negligent Manslaughter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Negligent Manslaughter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Statutory Rape | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: US Dept of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey. Table figures show the Criminal Offenses section; other Clery tables are separate
Fire Safety
| Year | Fires | Inj. | Deaths | Cat I | Cat II |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Arrests & Disciplinary Actions
54 category-year records| Category | Year | Arrests | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 131 |
| Weapons | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Weapons | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Weapons | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Weapons | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Weapons | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Weapons | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2023 | 0 | 0 |
Northwestern University vs peer institutions
Side-by-side safety scores for 3 peers of similar enrollment
Scores are $2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 enrolled students (lower is fewer in those categories).
MI
Wayne State University
2.31 incidents / 1,000 students
FL
St Petersburg College
0.00 incidents / 1,000 students
Cost context
Where Northwestern University sits on price and outcomes
At $29,167, Northwestern University's reported average net price is cheaper than 95% among 178 Illinois colleges with a reported figure. The state median is $15,405.
- $29,167
- average net price
- $15,405
- Illinois median
- 5.1×
- six-year earnings to median debt
- $47,013
- reported income-bracket spread
Aid here is steeply income-scaled. Families reporting under $30,000 of income record a net price of $1,764, while those above $110,000 record $48,777 - roughly 27.7 times as much. A published average of $29,167 therefore describes very few families well; the bracket nearest your own income is the more useful figure.
Median reported earnings six years after entry are $76,844, roughly 2.6 times a year of net price. That is a workable ratio, though it says nothing about how long the programme takes to finish.
Average net price reflects grant and scholarship aid for aided students, not a personal offer. Earnings cover former students who received federal aid; neither measure predicts an individual's outcome.
Academic & Financial Profile
Tuition & Costs
- In-State Tuition
- $68,322
- Out-of-State Tuition
- $68,322
- Avg Net Price
- $29,167
- Median Debt
- $15,000
- Pell Grant Recipients
- 19%
Admissions
- Acceptance Rate
- 8%
- SAT Average
- 1533
- SAT Math Range
- 770-800
- ACT Average
- 35
- ACT Range
- 33-35
Outcomes
- 4-Year Graduation Rate
- 96%
- Retention Rate
- 98%
- Median Earnings (6yr)
- $76,844
- Median Earnings (10yr)
- $89,363
- Loan Repayment (3yr)
- 91%
Source: IPEDS & College Scorecard. Methodology.
Similar Institutions
Showing 5 of 383 similar institutions by enrollment size.
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI · 23,803 enrolled
Safety Score 2.31
St Petersburg College
St. Petersburg, FL · 23,936 enrolled
Safety Score 0.00
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA · 23,743 enrolled
Safety Score 3.92
Des Moines Area Community College
Ankeny, IA · 23,697 enrolled
Safety Score 0.00
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV · 23,643 enrolled
Safety Score 6.43
Closest by National Rank
Northwestern University (national rank #1756) sits near University of Oregon (#1757) and Claflin University (#1755) on the scored national list, nearest by rank, not by size or state.
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR
National Rank #1757
Claflin University
Orangeburg, SC
National Rank #1755
University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO
National Rank #1754
Maryland Institute College of Art
Baltimore, MD
National Rank #1758
Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington, IN
National Rank #1759
Nationwide campuses with similar scale or Clery rate
Two Clery-derived peer sets for Northwestern University, both outside IL so the neighborhoods are not state containment (Similar Institutions and national-rank neighbors above stay enrollment- or rank-based).
Similar enrollment (nationwide)
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI · 23,803 enrolled
Safety score 2.31
St Petersburg College
St. Petersburg, FL · 23,936 enrolled
Safety score 0.00
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA · 23,743 enrolled
Safety score 3.92
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV · 23,643 enrolled
Safety score 6.43
Florida State College at Jacksonville
Jacksonville, FL · 23,556 enrolled
Safety score 0.47
Santa Monica College
Santa Monica, CA · 23,453 enrolled
Safety score 0.47
Montclair State University
Montclair, NJ · 23,375 enrolled
Safety score 2.70
Missouri State University-Springfield
Springfield, MO · 24,360 enrolled
Safety score 1.52
Similar 2024 Clery rate (nationwide)
Claflin University
Orangeburg, SC · 1,852 enrolled
Safety score 6.48
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR · 24,404 enrolled
Safety score 6.52
Maryland Institute College of Art
Baltimore, MD · 1,687 enrolled
Safety score 6.52
University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO · 38,799 enrolled
Safety score 6.47
Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington, IN · 48,424 enrolled
Safety score 6.53
Andrews University
Berrien Springs, MI · 2,940 enrolled
Safety score 6.46
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA · 29,109 enrolled
Safety score 6.46
Catawba College
Salisbury, NC · 1,376 enrolled
Safety score 6.54
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Northwestern University safe?
Northwestern University has a safety score of 6.50 (2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 enrolled students) and ranks #1,756 nationally out of 2,072 ranked institutions - nearest similar-enrollment comparison: Wayne State University (2.31/1k). Same-state same-level set: Illinois State University (3.20/1k); DePaul University (2.07/1k); University of Chicago (3.72/1k); Loyola University Chicago (2.36/1k); DeVry University-Illinois (0.00/1k); Northern Illinois University (9.60/1k); Chamberlain University-Illinois (0.00/1k); University of Illinois Chicago (6.87/1k).
What crimes are reported at Northwestern University?
For calendar year 2024, Northwestern University reported Motor Vehicle Theft (106), Fondling (11), Burglary (10), Aggravated Assault (3) and Arson (3), and 1 further category in the Criminal Offenses section. Every other category in that section was reported at zero; other Clery tables are separate.
How does Northwestern University compare to similar schools?
Northwestern University reports 157% more 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 than Wayne State University. Scored similar-enrollment peers on this page: Wayne State University (2.31/1k); St Petersburg College (0.00/1k); Old Dominion University (3.92/1k); Des Moines Area Community College (0.00/1k); West Virginia University (6.43/1k). Same-state same-level set: Illinois State University (3.20/1k); DePaul University (2.07/1k); University of Chicago (3.72/1k); Loyola University Chicago (2.36/1k); DeVry University-Illinois (0.00/1k); Northern Illinois University (9.60/1k); Chamberlain University-Illinois (0.00/1k); University of Illinois Chicago (6.87/1k).
Does Northwestern University have fire safety data?
Yes. Northwestern University reports fire safety data for on-campus residential facilities, including total fires, injuries, deaths, and fire damage categories. No fires were reported in the most recent year.
Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.
PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.
PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice.