Portland is the largest city in Maine, with 67,900 residents in Cumberland County · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Portland?
Portland earns an A- for property crime, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 57% of Americans live. Theft makes up 67% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A, and vehicle theft grades A.
A-
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 778 of 1,000About as much property crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
43% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Portland as a whole, and 57% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Portland scores 778.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Portland, ME at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Portland, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Portland
One part of Portland stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in East End & East Bayside India Street, in east Portland, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
Thefts from cars happen in the morning far more often than nationally. In Portland, 49% of reported thefts from cars happen in the morning (6 am to noon), against 23% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Portland
Most of Portland grades well for property crime: 91% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Property crime grades across Portland run from A+ to C.
91%
A or B 91%C 9%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Libbytown, southwestThefts run at about half the rate in the rest of Portland.A-842
2North Deering & Ocean Avenue, northActs of vandalism run at about half the rate in the rest of Portland.A-835
3Riverton & Nasons Corner, northwestCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Portland.A-831
4East Deering, northeastThefts run about 20% lower here than in the rest of Portland.A-826
5Rosemont & Deering, westClose to the rest of Portland on most crimes.A-779
6Oakdale, centralClose to the rest of Portland on most crimes.B+746
7Parkside, West End & Valley Street, southCar thefts run at about double the rate in the rest of Portland.B+716
8Downtown & West Bayside, southeastCar thefts run at about double the rate in the rest of Portland.B+696
9East End & East Bayside India Street, eastActs of vandalism run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Portland.B690
Neighborhood areas of Portland, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is property crime going up in Portland?
Reported property crime in Portland has held about steady since 2019, within 4%. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 26 to 25 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime rose 44%.
Property crime, change since 2019
PortlandUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Portland. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Portland
Property, US
2016
+4%
+15%
2017
+3%
+12%
2018
-5%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-35%
-8%
2021
-28%
-10%
2022
-35%
-6%
2023
-34%
-7%
2024
-4%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Portland
CrimeGrade™ estimates Portland has about 33 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 38% more than the US as a whole and about double the rate for Maine.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Portland, about 67% of the total, followed by vandalism and vehicle theft.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when property crime happens in Portland
Portland has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Portland, 41% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 33% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (46%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (33%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (43%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (25%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Portland and nearby cities
Portland has the most property crime of its 7 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Portland. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Portland has more property crime than 57% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Portland apart: it has 111 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 21.0 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft than places with only one of them, and it runs high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.111 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 97% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.21.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 97% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft.B- (51 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 92% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Portland: C (37 of 100).12 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 87% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.44% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 79% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.4.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 61% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Portland
Property crime costs Portland about $14 million a year, or $209 per resident and about $446 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$900,000
$13
Theft
$7.7 million
$113
Vehicle theft
$1.6 million
$24
Arson
$360,000
$5
Vandalism
$3.6 million
$54
Total
$14 million
$209
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
