The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Malheur County, OR
Malheur County is home to 32,000 residents and includes Ontario and Nyssa · Updated November 2026
Is Malheur County, OR safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Malheur County has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 75% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Malheur County run from A+ to C+, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 922 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
75% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Malheur County as a whole, and 25% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Malheur County scores 922.
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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 Malheur County, OR at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Malheur County, 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 in Malheur County
Car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Malheur County, 52% of reported car thefts happen on streets and sidewalks, against 27% nationally.
Arsons run high. Malheur County has arsons at more than triple the US rate: 1.0 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.12 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Malheur County
Most of Malheur County grades well: 98% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Malheur County run from A+ to C+; 53% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
98%
A or B 98%C 2%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Malheur County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the north side has the least crime and the Ontario area the most.
Crime rates and types in Malheur County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Malheur County has about 54 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 45% more than the US as a whole and 28% more than Oregon.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Malheur County, about 44% of everything reported.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. 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 crime happens in Malheur County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Malheur County, 2022 to 2024.
In Malheur County, 41% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 41% of them, against 18% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (41%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (52%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (41%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (27%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Aggravated assault
Homes (36%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Malheur County compares with nearby counties
Malheur County has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties. Adams County, ID and Washington County, ID have the least crime nearby.
Shops, empty homes and walkability in Malheur County
Two things set Malheur County apart: it has 10.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 5% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson, and arson runs high here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.12.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 89% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.10.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 87% of Americans
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. 78% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (17 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 52% of Americans
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 79% of Americans
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.61% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 77% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Malheur County: F (1 of 100).under 1 trip an hourUS: noneLower than for 64% of Americans
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 crime costs Malheur County
Crime costs Malheur County about $2,163 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 79% more than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $84 million a year, or $2,620 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$6.1 million
$190
Rape
$1.2 million
$38
Robbery
$370,000
$12
Assault
$6.0 million
$187
Burglary
$830,000
$26
Theft
$3.9 million
$121
Vehicle theft
$1.5 million
$47
Arson
$790,000
$25
Vandalism
$2.1 million
$65
Total
$23 million
$711
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Malheur County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Malheur County is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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.
Schools in Malheur County, OR average a SchoolGrade of B: 36% of students test proficient, against 34% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Malheur County on SchoolGrade
