The 20 Safest Cities in Oregon — 2017

Rebecca Edwards Oct 16, 2017

Oregon takes a proactive stance when it comes to protecting the public and holding criminals accountable. The state’s prison rate grew almost 50% between 2000 and 2010, ballooning the incarcerated population to 14,000 inmates. In response, Oregon implemented the Oregon Justice Reinvestment Initiative, and results from both 2016 and 2017 show progress with prison populations falling below forecasts. The state was even able to cancel plans to build a new male prison.¹

Fewer inmates indicates fewer arrests and fewer crimes being committed, which is certainly demonstrated by our top twenty safest Oregon cities. Seven of the cities on our list this year are being honored for the second consecutive time.

Most notably, Hubbard, our number-one safest city, claimed the top spot once again. This close-knit community reported zero violent crimes and just thirty total property crimes, as noted in the most recent FBI crime data. There was only one murder reported among all twenty cities, and a full 75% reported fewer than twenty-five total violent crimes.

Over 50% of Oregon’s safest cities experienced fewer than 140 property crimes, with 90% reporting fewer than forty-five burglaries. In addition, seventeen cities kept motor vehicle thefts below twenty-five incidents, and 85% reported fewer than three counts or fewer of arson.

Whether you live on the breathtaking coast or among its fertile farmlands, Oregon is an exceptional place to call home. The cherry on top is the peace of mind that comes from living in a state with such a low violent crime rate. Overall, the Beaver State ranks fourteenth nationwide for low violent crime.

Take a look to see if your city ranks as one of the state’s safest, but don’t despair if it isn’t on the list. Use our Oregon Safety Directory to find out how you can make your home and community safer. Your efforts could be the extra help your city needs to become (or remain) one of Oregon’s safest.

How We Chose the Safest Cities in Oregon

To identify the 20 safest cities in Oregon, we reviewed the most recent FBI Crime Report statistics from 2015, along with population data. We eliminated all cities with fewer than 3,000 residents as well as any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI.

From there, we evaluated the remaining cities. We narrowed it down based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) in each city. To further level the playing field, we calculated the likelihood of these crimes occurring out of 1,000 people in each city.

Learn more about how we rank our Safest Cities reports.

1. Hubbard ↔

Previous rank: 1

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.00 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 8.98

2. Bandon ↑

Previous rank: 7

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.33
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.89

3. Brookings ↑

Previous rank: 5

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.09 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.13

4. Aumsville ↑

Previous rank: 13

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.75 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.97

5. Umatilla ↑

Previous rank: Not Ranked

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 2.42
Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.96

6. Mount Angel ↑

Previous rank: 26

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.46 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 13.77

7. Newberg-Dundee ↑

Previous rank: Not ranked

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.92 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 16.14

8. Toledo ↑

Previous rank: 49

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 3.47
Property Crimes per 1,000: 16.48

9. Boardman ↑

Previous rank: Not ranked

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 5.96
Property Crimes per 1,000: 14.92

10. Silverton ↑

Previous rank: 23

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.52 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 20.82

11. Talent ↑

Previous rank: 25

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 2.03
Property Crimes per 1,000: 20.50

12. Philomath ↓

Previous rank: 11

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.66
Property Crimes per 1,000: 22.16

13. Keizer ↑

Previous rank: 17

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.47
Property Crimes per 1,000: 21.74

14. Monmouth ↑

Previous rank: 15

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.49 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 22.18

15. Hood River ↑

Previous rank: Not ranked

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.40 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 24.09

16. Pendelton ↑

Previous rank: Not ranked

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 2.48 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 22.63

17. Sutherlin ↑

Previous rank: 29

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 4.26 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 22.58

18. Dallas ↑

Previous rank: 28

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.71 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 25.42

19. Winston ↑

Previous rank: Not ranked

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.88 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 25.31

20. Central Point ↑

Previous rank: 31

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.79
Property Crimes per 1,000: 26.15

How Safe is Your Home?

Wherever you live, feeling safe in your home can bring greater peace of mind and happiness. Whether your city made our list or not, we recommend adding extra security to your home with monitored security services provided by the nation’s leading home security providers.

To learn more about the home security options available to you, check out SafeWise’s picks for Best Home Security Systems of 2018 or select the city nearest you in the drop down menu below.

---

1. Oregon.gov, “History of Oregon’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative”