Crime by type
Portland Crime by Type
A breakdown of the offense categories that shape Portland's crime profile.
Overview
What drives crime in Portland
Portland's reported crime leans heavily toward property offenses, with motor vehicle theft standing out as an especially stubborn problem in recent years. The categories below show where the volume actually lands.
By category
Rates and odds by crime type
Estimated annual rate per 100,000 residents and your everyday odds, with risk level relative to the U.S. average.
| Offense | Per 100k/yr | Annual odds | vs. U.S. | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theft / Larceny | 1,247 | 1 in 80 | -11% | Average |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 277 | 1 in 361 | -13% | Average |
| Aggravated Assault | 227 | 1 in 441 | -15% | Average |
| Burglary | 193 | 1 in 518 | -28% | Low |
| Robbery | 57 | 1 in 1,748 | -23% | Low |
| Rape | 26 | 1 in 3,882 | -23% | Low |
| Homicide | 4 | 1 in 25,842 | -23% | Low |
Drill down
What's actually reported in Portland
The most common specific offenses behind each category, from reported incident descriptions.
Retail Theft 10,148 reports
Assault 7,587 reports
Theft 7,067 reports
Theft from Vehicle 6,225 reports
Vandalism 5,670 reports
Motor Vehicle Theft 5,078 reports
Detail
Crime types in Portland, explained
Motor Vehicle Theft
Motor vehicle theft has been one of Portland's defining property-crime challenges, with older models and catalytic-converter targets stolen across both east-side and central neighborhoods.
Theft / Larceny
Theft from vehicles and shoplifting make up a large share of reported incidents, concentrated near commercial strips, parking areas, and transit stations.
Burglary
Residential and commercial break-ins occur citywide but cluster around vacant storefronts and ground-floor units, often spiking in transitional districts.
Aggravated Assault
Aggravated assaults are most frequent in the downtown core and along outer east-side corridors, while leafy residential neighborhoods report comparatively few.
Robbery
Robberies tend to follow foot traffic and transit lines, with downtown, Old Town-Chinatown, and busy bus and MAX stops seeing the highest counts.
Homicide
Homicides are rare relative to property crime and remain geographically concentrated, with most years' totals tied to a handful of higher-risk corridors.