BY MICHAEL LANSU AND SCARLETT SWERDLOW
Homicide Watch Chicago
Chicago Police recorded about 1,335 murders from 2011 through 2013 – a majority in communities where residents have little education and money.
While low educational attainment and high levels of poverty are associated with murder rates, some Chicago communities buck the trend.
Of Chicago’s 77 communities, Austin has the most residents, and the most people living in poverty. It also had the most murders from 2011 through 2013 with 96.
However, just because a community has a higher percentage of residents living in poverty doesn’t necessarily mean it will have a high murder total.
The East Side and Logan Square communities both had poverty rates above the city average, yet each area had low homicide rates.
The East Side had only one murder from 2011 through 2013. Just north, the South Chicago community recorded 32 killings during the same time.
Similarly, the Logan Square community had only seven murders in the past three years, while just south the Humboldt Park and West Town communities had 53 and 17 slayings.
Educational attainment is also associated with murder rates, and communities with more college graduates tend to have fewer killings.
However, living in a community with a larger population of residents who never attended college doesn’t guarantee more homicides.
The tiny Montclare community, which shares a border with the violent Austin community, had zero murder from 2011 through 2013 despite having a larger than average percentage of the population who never finished high school.
The East Side, West Elsdon, West Ridge and West Lawn communities also have a low murder rate despite having a larger than average share of the population without a high school education.
Household income is also associated with murders, and of the communities with low homicide rates only the East Side has a mean income below the city average.
— Get the data used in this analysis.