Oregon’s Safest Cities of 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

Oregonians in our 2023 State of Safety report expressed a higher level of concern for their safety this survey year (50%) compared to last year (45%). For this first time, they feel more concerned overall than their fellow Americans, which averaged 47%. In line with higher safety concerns, only 32% said they feel generally safe within their state (the ninth-lowest from the survey year).

Residents of The Beaver State generally worry more about crime, gun violence, and package theft than their peers. Over 80% of the Oregonians we surveyed believe that crime is increasing.

Perceptions seem to match reality, with Oregon's violent and property crime rates increasing for the second consecutive year. All 10 of Oregon’s safest cities had violent and property crime rates below the state and national averages.

Violent crime in Oregon increased this year from 3.6 incidents per 1,000 people to 4.2. Property crime rose for the second time since 2012 from 28.2 incidents per 1,000 last year to 30.3—giving Oregon the fourth-highest property crime rate in the US.

Compared to the national average, Oregon has a higher violent crime rate (US 4.0) and a higher property crime rate (US 20.7). 

Oregon survey respondents were more concerned with property crime than the average American, which aligns with the state’s higher property crime rate. Of our survey respondents, 56% said they were most concerned with property crime, with 57% most concerned with package theft in particular.

• Oregon sees about 5% more property crimes as a proportion of overall crime than most of the US. Property crime makes up 88% of all crime in the state, compared to 84% nationwide.
• Overall, Oregon saw a higher rate of motor vehicle theft (19%) than most of the nation (US 14%).
• This year, burglary accounted for 12% of all property crime in Oregon compared to 13% nationwide. 
• Reported experience with property crime went down year over year—from 36% last year to 30% of respondents telling us they experienced a property crime in the 12 months prior to the survey (US (27%).

• 67% of Oregon respondents use some form of property protection (US 75%).
• The top forms of property protection in Oregon were security cameras (30%) and guard dogs (26%). This is lower than the respective national averages for security cameras (US 26%) and guard dogs (US 33%).
• 33% of Oregonians say they increased security measures in the 12 months prior to the survey (US 35%).

• 36% of respondents in Oregon reported experiencing package theft in the 12 months prior to the survey—higher than the US average of 35%.
• 57% of participants expressed a high level of concern about package theft, which is four percentage points above the US average of 53%.
• Of those who use security measures to prevent package theft (70%), the preferred methods of package protection in Oregon are verified delivery (28%), followed by video doorbells (23%) and asking the carrier to leave the package in a safe spot (23%).
• The Portland metro area was the tenth worst city for package theft in our 2023 report.

Over half (52%) of Oregonians were highly concerned about violent crime in our most recent survey—a small decline from 53%  last year (US 50%). While concern and crime rates have increased, Oregon still has a much lower proportion of violent crimes than most of the US.

• Violent crime accounts for 12% of all crime reported in Oregon (US 16%)
• Of the violent crimes committed, aggravated assault was the most common (55% of total) in Oregon with over 9,800 incidents reported. Nationwide aggravated assault accounts for 71% of all violent crime.
• Experiences with violent crime rose 15% year over year, with 15% of respondents saying they experienced it in the 12 months prior to the survey.

• 35% of Oregonians use some form of personal protection (US 36%).
• The most common forms of personal protection in Oregon this survey year were pocket knives and pepper spray, with 51% each.
• Just over 3 in 10 respondents (32%) said they feel safe in Oregon, compared to the national average of 45% who feel safe in their state.

• 52% of Oregonians said they worry about about a gun violence incident happening to them (US 51%).
• Reported experiences with gun violence remained steady year over year at 9% of survey respondents.
• There were 2 mass shootings in Oregon in 2023—a decrease from 2022 (6 incidents).
• Of those who regularly use personal protection, 29% carry a concealed firearm.
• Of those who use security measures at home, 22% rely on a firearm to protect their property.

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• 44 cities met our criteria to be considered for ranking.
• West Linn tops our list for the fifth year in a row.
• 40% of the safest cities went up in rank compared to last year with Canby and Newberg-Dundee showing the most improvement—each moved up 4 spots to land at 2 and 6 respectively.
• 3 cities maintained their rankings from last year: West Linn (1), Central Point (5), and Bend (8).
• Monmouth is new to the list this year, debuting as the ninth safest city in Oregon.
• None of the safest cities reported more than 2.2 violent crimes per 1,000, and 80% reported zero murders.
• All of the safest cities reported fewer than 17.5 property crime incidents per 1,000.
• Prineville reported the fewest total crimes (170) with 26 violent crimes and 144 property crimes.

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Find all endnotes and sources in our full methodology.

FBI Crime Data Explorer, "Documents & Downloads." Accessed March 18, 2024.

• 2022 and 2021 Crime in the United States Annual Reports
  • Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
• 2022 NIBRS Estimation Tables

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)." Accessed March 18, 2024.

Gun Violence Archive, "Mass Shootings." Accessed March 18, 2023.