The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Oregon

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Oregon For 2026

We all know Portland has a lot of avant-garde hipsters and various disciples of American counter-culture, but the biggest city in Oregon also has the worst crime numbers in the state.

With all the gardens and parks around, you might think Portland’s a peaceful place, but anyone who watches the news knows otherwise.

Portland is the most violent place in Oregon, with about ten violent crimes going down each day, on average. Property crime isn’t much better, considering the 5,468 stolen cars and 4,532 burglaries recorded in 2024.

All of which is definitely not cool.

Another coastal city, Coos Bay also saw a spike in crime over the past year. The city ranked as the second highest worst in both violent and property crime rates, with some alarming numbers in each category.

Like having the 15th highest rate of rape cases in Oregon by a pretty significant margin. And recording a burglary about every other day, on average, which is enough for the highest burglary rate statewide as well.

At least residents can find a bit of sanctuary at Shore Acres State Park — just bring a friend if you think you’ll be out after dark.

Medford gets its name from a town in Massachusetts, located about 3,000 miles across the country. Built in the southern part of the state, near the California border, this Medford sits along I-5 — the main north-south artery through the state.

The city has always been something of a stopover. It was originally a railroad town. Maybe some of that history lingers on — at least the part related to railroad bandits. The residents endure a surprisingly high crime rate, including large numbers of larcenies and robberies.

A coastal city located in the northwestern part of Oregon, Warrenton comes in as the state’s fourth least safe place.

Warrenton jumped up a few spots on this list from last year, and that’s mostly because of a recent rise in property crime. Warrenton had the second highest property crime rate in Oregon, with residents facing a 1 in 22 chance of having their stuff stolen or damaged over 2024.

This means you should probably always lock your car, even if you’re just parked next to your campsite at Fort Stevens State Park.

On the bright side, Warrenton’s violent crime numbers fell slightly, so there’s hope for change here.

Turns out that Oregon’s capital city is also the fifth most dangerous place in the state.

Salem might be one place where wearing a wallet chain is actually a good idea, seeing as there were 3,498 larcenies in 2024. And while violent crime has been decreasing in Salem, property crime went up from last year.

Still, watch your back in any poorly lit areas of Salem’s parks of night — it’s still the third most violent place in Oregon, after all.

We’re taking our first trip down to south-central Oregon to reach its sixth most dangerous city, Klamath Falls.

Klamath Falls had the 12th highest burglary rate in Oregon for 2024. At least nobody has tried to pull a heist on the Klamath County Museum yet.

Violent crime is the bigger problem in Klamath Falls, though. Residents had a 1 in 206 chance of being attacked over the year. That includes the second highest murder rate and tenth highest rate of rape cases in Oregon.

Grants Pass, the county seat of Josephine County in Oregon, is notably becoming one of the state’s most dangerous cities. Located northwest of Medford along the Rogue River, this city, with a population of 39,113, is experiencing an alarming rise in crime rates. Grants Pass recorded 158 violent crimes, putting it on the tenth highest position for violent crime in Oregon.

Eugene has the highest number of homeless people per capita in America, so it’s not exactly shocking that the city has to deal with high crime rates as well.

It’s just good protocol to keep a close eye on your stuff when you’re walking along the Willamette River Trail, or you might join the 5,797 victims of property crime Eugene had in 2024.

Additionally, Eugene averaged one aggravated assault each day, so if you’re not trying to get some free boxing lessons, do your best to avoid rowdy pugilists here.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In Oregon FAQs

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No, Oregon is not a dangerous state as it ranks as the #30 safest state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in Oregon ranks 36th most dangerous in the United States — 21.07% better than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Beaver State ranks seventh most dangerous in the United States — 36.05% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.

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Yes, Portland is a dangerous city. Portland ranks as the #9 most dangerous out of 328 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Portland might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Alameda is the safest in Portland, while Sunderland is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Portland ranks 79th highest in America — 35.7% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks eighth highest in the United States — 131.77% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 and that no city in America is ‘dangerous’. Despite the uptick in murders, it’s nothing like you’d see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.

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