Is Portland, OR Safe?
Portland, OR has a Safety Score of 78/100 (grade B). Violent crime is 42% below the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
Safety Context Score: 78/100 (Grade B)
CrimeContext scores Portland on a 0-100 scale that weights per-capita violent crime against the national average (40%), per-capita property crime (30%), and the 5-year direction of total crime (30%). A grade of B means Portland sits better than the typical U.S. city once population is taken into account. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
We never display raw crime counts. A large city will always log more total incidents than a small town; the only fair comparison is the rate per 100,000 residents, which is what every number on this page uses.
Portland Crime Rates per 100,000 vs National Average
| Crime Type | Portland | National Avg | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 209.2 | 363.8 | -42% |
| Property Crime | 1896.4 | 1832.3 | +3% |
| Murder | 6.3 | 5.7 | +11% |
| Robbery | 31.4 | 73.0 | -57% |
| Aggravated Assault | 125.5 | 246.4 | -49% |
| Burglary | 227.6 | 269.8 | -16% |
| Larceny-Theft | 1327.5 | 1401.9 | -5% |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 151.7 | 318.3 | -52% |
| 5-Year Trend | -15.0% | ||
| Population | 652,503 | ||
All values are incidents per 100,000 residents (FBI UCR/NIBRS). Per-capita rates only — never raw counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Portland, OR has a Safety Score of 78/100 (grade B). Violent crime is 42% below the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
Portland, OR has a violent crime rate of 209.2 per 100,000 residents (42% below the U.S. average of 363.8) and a property crime rate of 1896.4 per 100,000 (3% above the U.S. average of 1832.3). All figures are per-capita rates, never raw counts.
Portland has a murder rate of 6.3 per 100,000 residents, compared with the national average of 5.7. Like every figure here, this is a per-capita rate — raw homicide counts without population context can badly mislead.
Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years. Over the past 5 years, the total crime rate in Portland has changed by -15.0%.
Violent crime in Portland is 42% below the U.S. average and property crime is 3% above average. Portland's overall Safety Context Score is 78/100 (grade B).
More about Portland
Portland, OR has a Safety Score of 78/100 (grade B). Violent crime is 42% below the national average. Crime has been trending downward over the past 5 years.
This answer pulls from the FBI UCR/NIBRS dataset, the authoritative federal source for U.S. city and county crime rates. The headline number above is the direct answer; what follows is the additional context most readers need to use the answer for a real decision rather than just a fact lookup.
For readers turning this answer into action: cross-reference against the underlying the FBI UCR/NIBRS dataset record before acting on time-sensitive decisions. The site renders the data as it was published; subsequent revisions can shift the picture, and the live federal data is always the authoritative current reference.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2026.