Report Highlights: In 2024, Oregon had lower homicide rates than the national average. However, crime in Oregon is concentrated in Portland.
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In 2024, Oregon’s homicide rate was 32% lower than the national average.
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Portland has the highest violent crime rate in Oregon at 720 victimizations per 100,000.
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Portland, Oregon ranks 6th in violent crime among ten cities with similar populations.
Related Studies: States with the Highest Murder Rate | Cities with the Lowest Crime Rates | Gun Ownership by State
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Methodology
Data in this report is sourced from the CDC WONDER Database and FBI Crime Data Explorer. The WONDER Database was used to retrieve state and national homicide rates, while the FBI Crime Database was used to retrieve city-level data.
This analysis compares Portland’s violent crime rates (which include homicide) to other intrastate and interstate cities using FBI data, and Oregon to states with similar policies (e.g. sanctuary vs. non-sanctuary states) and similar population sizes using the WONDER Database.
Homicide rates include justifiable homicides, and were compared using unweighted state-level averages. Each state contributes equally to the category totals, whether classified as a sanctuary or non-sanctuary state.
Oregon Homicide Rates
Oregon consistently reports lower homicide rates than the national average. In 2024, the state’s homicide rate was 32% lower than the national average.
Oregon Murder Rate Per Capita
Oregon’s homicide rate increased in the 1970s and 1980s, with the highest homicide rate occurring in 1986 (6.6 per 100,000 people). In 2024, Oregon ranked 37th for homicides in the U.S. at 4.1 per 100,000, with 174 total murders reported to the CDC. (Source 2, 3, 4)
Comparatively speaking, New Hampshire had the lowest homicide rate in 2024, followed by Idaho, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine (below 2.4 per 100,000). Washington, D.C., Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Alabama rounded out the top five states with the highest homicide rates that same year.
Oregon Homicide Rates by Year
Although fluctuating over the past five decades, long-term trends show that Oregon’s homicide rates remain relatively low and stable compared to national patterns. Between the 1960s and 1990s, Oregon’s homicide rates ranged from 3 to 5 per 100,000 residents. (Source 2, 3, 4)
The state’s homicides remained low between 2000 and 2014, with rates between 2 and 3 per 100,000. They then rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, which aligns with national averages.
In 2024, Oregon’s homicide rate was 36.7% higher than pre-pandemic levels; the national rate, 3.45% higher.
Oregon Murder Rate Compared to Other States
Oregon’s 2024 homicide rate remained below the national average (6.0 per 100,000 people) at 4.1 per 100,000, and aligned closely with nearby states including Washington (4.4 per 100,000) and Colorado (5.2 per 100,000).(Source 2, 3, 4 )
Compared to other sanctuary states, including California (4.5 per 100,000) and Illinois (8.3 per 100,000), Oregon continues to report lower homicide rates. Oregon also has lower rates compared to non-sanctuary states such as Kentucky (6.8 per 100,000) and Arizona (6.2 per 100,000), yet higher rates than Utah (2.5 per 100,000).
Similar to the rest of the United States, Oregon experienced a sharp increase in homicides during the COVID-19 pandemic (46.7%), followed by a gradual decline. The state’s homicide rate fell by 6% between 2023 and 2024, while comparable states exhibited steeper declines.
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