Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Oregon?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
To find the cities in Oregon with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 22 cities in the Beaver State with over 7,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Cities With Highest Murder Rates In Oregon
What city has the highest murder rate in Oregon? The city with the highest murder rate in Oregon is Milton-Freewater with 14.2 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Oregon with highest number of murders? The city in Oregon with the highest number of murders is Portland with 74 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Oregon ranked. There were ‘only’ 22 cities in Oregon where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 46 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Beaver State check out:
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Oregon For 2025
/10
Population: 7,065
Murders: 1 (17th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 14.2 (Most)
More on Milton-Freewater: Data
/10
Population: 8,337
Murders: 1 (17th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 12.0 (2nd Most)
More on Scappoose: Data
/10
Population: 626,146
Murders: 74 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 11.8 (3rd Most)
More on Portland: Data
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Population: 57,002
Murders: 6 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 10.5 (4th Most)
More on Albany: Data
/10
Population: 110,225
Murders: 11 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 10.0 (5th Most)
More on Gresham: Data
/10
Population: 11,819
Murders: 1 (17th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 8.5 (6th Most)
More on Prineville: Data
/10
Population: 37,109
Murders: 3 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 8.1 (7th Most)
More on Oregon City: Data
/10
Population: 38,992
Murders: 3 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.7 (8th Most)
More on Grants Pass: Data
/10
Population: 15,768
Murders: 1 (17th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 6.3 (9th Most)
More on Coos Bay: Data
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Population: 15,897
Murders: 1 (17th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 6.3 (10th Most)
More on The Dalles: Data
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Oregon
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.
We only looked at every single city in Oregon for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 22 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Milton-Freewater. It is our tenth time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Oregon. We updated the list for 2025.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Oregon For 2025
If you’re looking at the places in Oregon with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in Oregon are Milton-Freewater, Scappoose, Portland, Albany, Gresham, Prineville, Oregon City, Grants Pass, Coos Bay, and The Dalles.
For more Oregon reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Oregon
- Fastest Growing Cities In Oregon
- Safest Places In Oregon
- Best Cities For Singles In Oregon
- Worst Places To Live In Oregon
Murder Rates By City In Oregon
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milton-Freewater, OR | 7065 | 1 | 14.15 |
| 2 | Scappoose, OR | 8337 | 1 | 11.99 |
| 3 | Portland, OR | 626146 | 74 | 11.82 |
| 4 | Albany, OR | 57002 | 6 | 10.53 |
| 5 | Gresham, OR | 110225 | 11 | 9.98 |
| 6 | Prineville, OR | 11819 | 1 | 8.46 |
| 7 | Oregon City, OR | 37109 | 3 | 8.08 |
| 8 | Grants Pass, OR | 38992 | 3 | 7.69 |
| 9 | Coos Bay, OR | 15768 | 1 | 6.34 |
| 10 | The Dalles, OR | 15897 | 1 | 6.29 |
| 11 | Pendleton, OR | 17095 | 1 | 5.85 |
| 12 | Tigard, OR | 56142 | 3 | 5.34 |
| 13 | Salem, OR | 178276 | 9 | 5.05 |
| 14 | West Linn, OR | 26708 | 1 | 3.74 |
| 15 | Woodburn, OR | 27980 | 1 | 3.57 |
| 16 | Eugene, OR | 178191 | 6 | 3.37 |
| 17 | Hillsboro, OR | 107459 | 3 | 2.79 |
| 18 | Redmond, OR | 37810 | 1 | 2.64 |
| 19 | Medford, OR | 85352 | 2 | 2.34 |
| 20 | Beaverton, OR | 96840 | 2 | 2.07 |
| 21 | Bend, OR | 105099 | 2 | 1.9 |
| 22 | Springfield, OR | 61185 | 1 | 1.63 |
Wildly inaccurate. Your premise of the”most dangerous” city by murders per capita is simply silly or lazy. Look at Tillamook. You rated it at #4. And yet if you were to look at the periods between 2002 and 2016 you would find zero (0, nil, zilch) murders. That gives you a total number of murders over a 17 year span(1 in 2017) of 1. meanwhile Portland has had 327 murders over the same period. This tells us the single murder in Tillamook was an outlyer, while Portland shows a pattern of murder. You need to include the city’s history in your calculations.