Ask anybody in Atlanta these days, and most will tell you there is an upsurge in crime. Crazy stories about everything from shootouts to a girl being killed for putting too much mayo on someone’s sandwich while working at a deli being killed.
Buckhead, a once-exclusive area of Atlanta, has become a hub of violent crimes, and some say they consider Buckhead a dangerous place in Atlanta.
We also hear about a lot of crime out of Chicago, weekend shootings seem to escalate in numbers, and the number of people shot in Chicago consistently makes headlines nationally and nationally.
A recent study performed by local Atlanta news outlet 11Alive was done on a comparison of various crimes in Chicago and Atlanta. Which city has more crime? The answer may surprise you.
Variations were added to get a better measurement per capita, and the results may surprise you. 11Alive then updated their previous study in 20 and 21 to reveal the changes are … if any.
Residents worry as violent crimes in Atlanta surge. 15 people were shot over the past weekend in Atlanta, leaving many concerned for their safety as they claim violent crimes are way up.
Crime data for shootings, robberies, and car break-ins have been examined by 11Alive, who say the reader’s comments have been the common theme in their reporting.
“Turning into Chicago,” Micki Gray wrote on 11Alive’s Facebook page.
“Getting like Chicago,” Ella West commented.
“We’re catching up to Chicago,” Jonathan Glass wrote.
In 2021 similar statements comparing the two large similar cities were made. In the previous year, many people made a comparison between the two cities as well. So to find out if a person is more likely to be a victim of a crime in Atlanta versus Chicago, 11Alive set out to compare data once more.
The station decided to follow up on last year’s reporting to see if anything had changed. This is what they discovered.
THE QUESTION
Is the crime rate in Atlanta worse or the same as in Chicago?
THE SOURCES
- Atlanta Police Department Crime Data for 2021 and 2022, year to date.
- Chicago Police Department Crime Data for 2021 and 2022, year to date.
- 2020 Census Data
- May of 2021, the original story was completed.
Both police departments’ data from the past five months was used.
Statistics from January to July were looked at by 11Alive this time. Two additional months of data, compared to her last report in 2021, were studied by 11Alive’s Hope Ford.
To give a complete picture of crime in both cities, 11Alive included crime on both police departments’ websites.
THE ANSWER
Yes — for certain crimes and especially true for those that are violent.
Study Findings
To confirm, the same process as before was used by 11Alive, who went directly for the police departments’ data openly available on their websites.
Since it has 2.6 million people versus Atlanta’s near half a million residents, making Chicago the larger of the two metropolises, the crime rate per 100,000 people was broken down.
No metro areas or data from sheriffs’ departments were used because the news channel only looked at the cities themselves.
When it comes to being a victim of murder, shootings, and aggravated assault, a person in Atlanta was likelier to be a victim than in Chicago at the time, as stated in the previous story.
The statistics for the most violent crimes remain the same for at least two of those crimes. There’s been 351 murders, 3,070 aggravated assaults, 1,094 rapes, and 4,346 robberies in Chicago in 2022.
In 2022 Atlanta experienced 86 murders, 1,921 aggravated assaults, 88 rapes, and 379 robberies.
After the adjustment for population, the murder rate for Chicago is 13 per 100,000, aggravated assault rate is 114 per 100,000, rape is 41 per 100,000, and the robbery rate in Chicago is 161 per 100,000.
17 per 100,000 is Atlanta’s murder rate, with aggravated assault 386 per 100,000, rape 18 per 100,000, and the robbery rate 76 per 100,000.
Property Crimes
3,901 burglaries, 7,169 motor vehicle thefts, and 9,554 thefts in Chicago property crimes have occurred.
Atlanta has had 918 burglaries/ breaking and entering, 1,582 motor vehicle thefts, and 7,167 thefts. Theft is categorized into shoplifting, theft from a motor vehicle, and all other larcenies in Atlanta.
These three areas group their data into theft in general in Chicago.
The burglary rate is 145 per 100,000, motor vehicle theft is 266 per 100,000, and 354 per 100,000 for theft with adjustments for the population.
Burglaries are 184 per 100,000, 318 per 100,000 for motor vehicle theft, and 1,440 per 100,000 for all other thefts in Atlanta.
An individual would be more likely to be a victim of murder, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, and auto theft than in Chicago, even though there’s more crime in Chicago than in Atlanta.
A person is more likely to be a victim of sexual assault or robbery in Chicago.
See below for the raw data, followed by the rate comparison.
Chicago, Year to Date, Week Ending July 17.
- 351 murders
- 3,070 aggravated assaults
- 1,094 rapes (criminal sexual assault)
- 4,346 robberies (non-motor vehicle)
- 7,169 motor-vehicle theft
- 3,901 burglaries
- 9,554 theft
Atlanta, Year to Date, Week Ending July 16
- 86 murders
- 1,921 aggravated assaults
- 88 rapes
- 379 robberies
- 1,582 motor vehicle theft
- 918 burglary/breaking and entering
- 4,475 theft from motor vehicle
- 845 shoplifting
- 1,847 all other larcenies
- 7,167 thefts (from motor vehicles, shoplifting, and all other larceny totals)
Chicago, rates per 100,000 people
- Murder 13 per 100,000
- Aggravated Assault 114 per 100,000
- Rape 41 per 100,000
- Robbery 161 per 100,000
- Motor Vehicle Theft 266 per 100,000
- Burglaries 145 per 100,000
- Thefts 354 per 100,000
Atlanta, rates per 100,000 people
- Murder 17 per 100,000
- Aggravated Assault 386 per 100,000
- Rape 18 per 100,000
- Robbery 76 per 100,000
- Motor Vehicle Theft 318 per 100,000
- Burglaries 184 per 100,000
- Thefts 1440 per 100,000
See video
