State profile · IL · Clery Act

Safest Colleges in Illinois

Federal Clery Act filings for all 216 tracked Illinois campuses, ranked by 2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students. Among nonzero reporters, College of DuPage currently has the lowest rate.

216
Institutions tracked
1.87
Avg campus rate / 1k (216 of 216 scored)
2.16
Statewide rate / 1k
#27
Rank by avg campus rate
735,384
Students enrolled

Among nonzero Clery reporters, College of DuPage has the lowest rate in Illinois

According to U.S. Department of Education Clery Act filings, across 216 tracked campuses in Illinois, 136 reported zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents used in the rate; among campuses with any in those categories, College of DuPage has the lowest rate at 0.08 per 1,000 students. This comparison excludes other Clery tables and unreported harm, so review the details before drawing a safety conclusion.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

campuses tracked
216
average campus, per 1,000 (216 of 216 scored)
1.87
lowest nonzero rate - College of DuPage
0.08
campuses at zero in score categories
136

Data updated August 2026

Clery Act plate

Sheet IL · Illinois 1.87/1k campus avg · #27/59

RATE-LOW · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT

  • RATE-LOW 1.87/1k
  • RANK-MID #27/59
  • PHOTO-FINISH South Carolina · ±0.06
  • ZERO-HEAVY 63% zero
  • WT-LARGE-HOT Δ −0.29
  • BOOK-FULL 216/216
  • CONC-FLAT top5 25%

Nearest campus-rate peer: South Carolina (-0.06/1k)

Illinois sheet RATE-LOW · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT · peer South Carolina. Codes from this state’s OPE Campus Safety filing: unweighted campus rate, corpus rank (low = safer), photo-finish peer state, zero-report share, campus-vs-weighted gap, scored book, top-five enrollment concentration. Not a moving recommendation.

Clery plate RATE-LOW · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT. Nearest unweighted-rate peer is South Carolina (-0.06/1k). Among nonzero reporters inside the state, College of DuPage leads at 0.08/1k. Instrument codes from this state's OPE Campus Safety sheet; compare similarly sized campuses before treating any single rate as decisive.

Most scored campuses in Illinois (136 of 216) reported zero in the 2024 score categories and stay unranked against each other. Among the nonzero reporters, College of DuPage leads at 0.08/1k, then Oakton College (0.12/1k); Waubonsee Community College (0.12/1k). A high zero share is a filing pattern, not a proof that campuses are safer.

Campus-rate neighbourhood around Illinois

Lowest/highest poles plus states nearest Illinois on unweighted average campus Clery rate. Full ladder: /rankings/.

per 1,000 students

What this shows Neighbourhood of scored states around Illinois's 1.87/1k unweighted campus average, not a full 50-state board reprint.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act) As of 2024

Safest colleges in Illinois, ranked by reported rate

Ranked from the lowest 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate upward, counting only the 80 Illinois campuses with at least one incident in those score categories. Showing the top 50 here so the page stays crawlable; positions are numbered within the full nonzero group.

1
College of DuPage Glen Ellyn · 26,224 students
Enrollment
26,224
Incidents /1k
0.08
2
Oakton College Des Plaines · 8,329 students
Enrollment
8,329
Incidents /1k
0.12
6
Morton College Cicero · 3,562 students
Enrollment
3,562
Incidents /1k
0.28
25
Lewis University Romeoville · 7,011 students
Enrollment
7,011
Incidents /1k
0.86
33
Parkland College Champaign · 6,014 students
Enrollment
6,014
Incidents /1k
1.33
43
DePaul University Chicago · 21,210 students
Enrollment
21,210
Incidents /1k
2.07
# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 College of DuPage Glen Ellyn · 26,224 students 26,224 0.08 4% of the leader · rank #1
2 Oakton College Des Plaines · 8,329 students 8,329 0.12 4% of the leader · rank #2
3 Waubonsee Community College Sugar Grove · 8,305 students 8,305 0.12 4% of the leader · rank #3
4 Lewis and Clark Community College Godfrey · 4,606 students 4,606 0.22 4% of the leader · rank #4
5 Governors State University University Park · 4,397 students 4,397 0.23 4% of the leader · rank #5
6 Morton College Cicero · 3,562 students 3,562 0.28 4% of the leader · rank #6
7 William Rainey Harper College Palatine · 13,988 students 13,988 0.29 4% of the leader · rank #7
8 School of the Art Institute of Chicago Chicago · 3,394 students 3,394 0.29 4% of the leader · rank #8
9 John A Logan College Carterville · 3,224 students 3,224 0.31 4% of the leader · rank #9
10 Rock Valley College Rockford · 5,978 students 5,978 0.33 4% of the leader · rank #10
11 City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College Chicago · 9,303 students 9,303 0.43 4% of the leader · rank #11
12 Danville Area Community College Danville · 2,297 students 2,297 0.44 4% of the leader · rank #12
13 Chicago State University Chicago · 2,238 students 2,238 0.45 4% of the leader · rank #13
14 Lincoln Land Community College Springfield · 5,677 students 5,677 0.53 4% of the leader · rank #14
15 College of Lake County Grayslake · 12,530 students 12,530 0.56 4% of the leader · rank #15
16 City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S Truman College Chicago · 6,839 students 6,839 0.58 4% of the leader · rank #16
17 Heartland Community College Normal · 4,855 students 4,855 0.62 4% of the leader · rank #17
18 City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College Chicago · 7,798 students 7,798 0.64 4% of the leader · rank #18
19 University of St Francis Joliet · 3,074 students 3,074 0.65 4% of the leader · rank #19
20 Aurora University Aurora · 5,923 students 5,923 0.68 4% of the leader · rank #20
21 Roosevelt University Chicago · 4,281 students 4,281 0.70 4% of the leader · rank #21
22 Black Hawk College Moline · 4,001 students 4,001 0.75 4% of the leader · rank #22
23 North Park University Chicago · 2,557 students 2,557 0.78 4% of the leader · rank #23
24 City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College Chicago · 6,296 students 6,296 0.79 4% of the leader · rank #24
25 Lewis University Romeoville · 7,011 students 7,011 0.86 4% of the leader · rank #25
26 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville · 11,893 students 11,893 1.01 4% of the leader · rank #26
27 Judson University Elgin · 960 students 960 1.04 4% of the leader · rank #27
28 Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Olney · 3,726 students 3,726 1.07 4% of the leader · rank #28
29 Moraine Valley Community College Palos Hills · 11,296 students 11,296 1.15 4% of the leader · rank #29
30 St. Augustine College Chicago · 810 students 810 1.23 4% of the leader · rank #30
31 Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago · 8,834 students 8,834 1.25 4% of the leader · rank #31
32 McKendree University Lebanon · 2,392 students 2,392 1.25 4% of the leader · rank #32
33 Parkland College Champaign · 6,014 students 6,014 1.33 4% of the leader · rank #33
34 Benedictine University Lisle · 2,917 students 2,917 1.37 4% of the leader · rank #34
35 City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College Chicago · 6,121 students 6,121 1.47 4% of the leader · rank #35
36 Illinois Central College East Peoria · 7,906 students 7,906 1.52 4% of the leader · rank #36
37 City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College Chicago · 3,274 students 3,274 1.53 4% of the leader · rank #37
38 Southwestern Illinois College Belleville · 8,492 students 8,492 1.53 4% of the leader · rank #38
39 Northeastern Illinois University Chicago · 5,734 students 5,734 1.57 4% of the leader · rank #39
40 Concordia University-Chicago River Forest · 4,770 students 4,770 1.68 4% of the leader · rank #40
41 Saint Xavier University Chicago · 3,485 students 3,485 1.72 4% of the leader · rank #41
42 University of Illinois Springfield Springfield · 4,628 students 4,628 1.94 4% of the leader · rank #42
43 DePaul University Chicago · 21,210 students 21,210 2.07 4% of the leader · rank #43
44 City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College Chicago · 3,137 students 3,137 2.23 4% of the leader · rank #44
45 Loyola University Chicago Chicago · 17,384 students 17,384 2.36 4% of the leader · rank #45
46 Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science North Chicago · 2,021 students 2,021 2.47 4% of the leader · rank #46
47 Greenville University Greenville · 1,104 students 1,104 2.72 4% of the leader · rank #47
48 North Central College Naperville · 3,003 students 3,003 3.00 4% of the leader · rank #48
49 Moody Bible Institute Chicago · 2,202 students 2,202 3.18 4% of the leader · rank #49
50 Illinois State University Normal · 21,546 students 21,546 3.20 4% of the leader · rank #50

30 additional nonzero-reporting campuses rank below this top-50 list in the same rate order.

Look up any campus via the Campus Safety Incident Tool or browse all schools.

Unranked campuses (136): zero score or no normalized rate

136 filed zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents in the score categories; other Clery tables can still contain reports. Neither group supports a safety ordering, so these campuses are listed alphabetically without positions. Showing 15 alphabetically; the remaining 121 stay out of this HTML table so large states stay crawlable.

Adler University Chicago · 1,631 students
Enrollment
1,631
Incidents /1k
0.00
# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
Adler University Chicago · 1,631 students 1,631 0.00
Ambria College of Nursing Hoffman Estates · 123 students 123 0.00
Americare Technical School Park Ridge · 25 students 25 0.00
Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Chicago Chicago · 333 students 333 0.00
Blackburn College Carlinville · 513 students 513 0.00
Blessing Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences Quincy · 193 students 193 0.00
CAAN Academy of Nursing Matteson · 96 students 96 0.00
CALC Institute of Technology Alton · 83 students 83 0.00
Cameo Beauty Academy Oak Lawn · 82 students 82 0.00
Cannella School of Hair Design-Chicago Chicago · 64 students 64 0.00
Cannella School of Hair Design-Villa Park Villa Park · 51 students 51 0.00
Capital Area Career Center Springfield · 353 students 353 0.00
Capri Beauty College Oak Forest · 33 students 33 0.00
Career Center of Southern Illinois Red Bud · 36 students 36 0.00
Carl Sandburg College Galesburg · 1,603 students 1,603 0.00

Open any remaining campus from the school directory or the incident tool.

The largest universities in Illinois by enrollment

Enrollment leaders: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (59,238); University of Illinois Chicago (33,906); Chamberlain University-Illinois (32,944), then 213 more. The 15 biggest Illinois institutions by total enrolled students, from the same federal IPEDS collection, each shown with its 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate. The five largest alone account for 25% of the 735,384 students enrolled across all 216 tracked Illinois institutions. Mid-pack by size sits near Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing (605 students, 0.00/1k).

5
College of DuPage Glen Ellyn · 26,224 students
Enrollment
26,224
Incidents /1k
0.08
8
DePaul University Chicago · 21,210 students
Enrollment
21,210
Incidents /1k
2.07
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign · 59,238 students 59,238 100% of the leader · rank #1 4.19
2 University of Illinois Chicago Chicago · 33,906 students 33,906 57% of the leader · rank #2 6.87
3 Chamberlain University-Illinois Addison · 32,944 students 32,944 56% of the leader · rank #3 0.00
4 DeVry University-Illinois Lisle · 31,296 students 31,296 53% of the leader · rank #4 0.00
5 College of DuPage Glen Ellyn · 26,224 students 26,224 44% of the leader · rank #5 0.08
6 Northwestern University Evanston · 23,856 students 23,856 40% of the leader · rank #6 6.50
7 Illinois State University Normal · 21,546 students 21,546 36% of the leader · rank #7 3.20
8 DePaul University Chicago · 21,210 students 21,210 36% of the leader · rank #8 2.07
9 University of Chicago Chicago · 18,566 students 18,566 31% of the leader · rank #9 3.72
10 Loyola University Chicago Chicago · 17,384 students 17,384 29% of the leader · rank #10 2.36
11 Northern Illinois University Dekalb · 15,414 students 15,414 26% of the leader · rank #11 9.60
12 Joliet Junior College Joliet · 14,414 students 14,414 24% of the leader · rank #12 0.00
13 William Rainey Harper College Palatine · 13,988 students 13,988 24% of the leader · rank #13 0.29
14 College of Lake County Grayslake · 12,530 students 12,530 21% of the leader · rank #14 0.56
15 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville · 11,893 students 11,893 20% of the leader · rank #15 1.01

Enrollment is total reported students, not full-time equivalent, and a branch campus is reported separately from its parent institution. A larger campus is not a less safe one: the incident rate beside it is already per 1,000 students.

Nationwide states with similar campus scale or Clery rate

Two nationwide peer sets for Illinois: closest on tracked campus count (216 here) and closest on unweighted average 2024 Clery rate (1.87/1k here). The rate-neighbourhood and keep-peer blocks above stay geo-adjacent; these columns are cross-state ABS comparisons with deduped link sets.

Similar campus count

Nearest other states by number of tracked postsecondary institutions (≥5 scored campuses in corpus).

Similar campus Clery rate

Nearest other states by unweighted average on-campus Clery rate. Campus-count peers above are excluded.

Read with this state

Keep-peer handoff: South Carolina sits nearest on unweighted campus average (-0.06/1k). Inside Illinois, open College of DuPage's campus sheet next.

College of DuPage profile → | All states → | Illinois net price → | Incident tool → | Methodology →

Illinois campus safety FAQ

What are the safest colleges in Illinois?

Among Illinois campuses that reported at least one 2024 Criminal Offense or VAWA incident in the Clery categories used here, College of DuPage has the lowest rate (0.08 per 1,000 students). Next among nonzero reporters: Oakton College (0.12/1k); Waubonsee Community College (0.12/1k). 136 campuses reported zero in those score categories and are listed separately without a safety ordinal, because a zero report is not the same as a proven safer campus.

How does PlainCampus rank campus safety in Illinois?

In Illinois, campuses with any 2024 Criminal Offenses or VAWA incidents in the score categories are ordered by incidents per 1,000 students - College of DuPage currently leads that nonzero list at 0.08/1k. Zero-report and unscored campuses stay unranked and alphabetical. See /methodology for the full rate definition.

How many colleges in Illinois are compared?

This page covers 216 tracked higher-education institutions in Illinois, serving about 735,384 enrolled students combined across 108 cities. 80 carry a ranked nonzero rate; 136 are listed without a safety ordinal. By enrollment the largest are University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (59,238); University of Illinois Chicago (33,906); Chamberlain University-Illinois (32,944). Nearby state averages for context: South Carolina (1.82/1k); New York (1.95/1k); Mississippi (2.00/1k); Wisconsin (1.75/1k); Alabama (1.70/1k); U.S. Virgin Islands (1.67/1k).

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.