The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Pendleton, OR
Pendleton is a city of 20,500 in Umatilla County, about 35 miles southwest of downtown Walla Walla · Updated November 2026
Is Pendleton, OR safe?
Yes, crime in Pendleton is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Pendleton sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 48% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A and property crime A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Pendleton run from A+ to B-, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 830 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
48% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Pendleton as a whole, and 52% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Pendleton scores 830.
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 Pendleton, OR at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Pendleton, 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 Pendleton
Reported rapes run high for an A-graded city. Pendleton has 0.91 reported rapes a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.25.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Pendleton, 51% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Pendleton
Every part of Pendleton where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Pendleton run from A+ to B-; 35% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Pendleton, the southeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Pendleton?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Pendleton is up 24%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.4 to 4.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 30 to 28 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 27% and property crime fell 35%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
PendletonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Pendleton. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Pendleton
Violent, US
Property, Pendleton
Property, US
2016
-12%
+4%
+5%
+15%
2017
-26%
+4%
-20%
+12%
2018
-14%
+0%
-3%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-24%
+4%
+7%
-8%
2021
+4%
+6%
-14%
-10%
2022
-25%
+5%
+30%
-6%
2023
-2%
+2%
+42%
-7%
2024
+24%
-4%
-8%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Pendleton
CrimeGrade™ estimates Pendleton has about 54 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 44% more than the US as a whole and 27% 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 makes up about 41% of crime reported in Pendleton. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
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 Pendleton
Pendleton has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Pendleton, 54% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (54%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (49%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (51%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Other places (29%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Aggravated assault
Homes (45%)
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 Pendleton compares with nearby cities
Pendleton has the most crime of its 2 nearest cities.
Parking lots, empty homes and walkability in Pendleton
Two things set Pendleton apart: it has 4.1 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 10.5% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.4.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 94% 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.10.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 88% 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 and assault. 81% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (19 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 55% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.12.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 76% of US city residents
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.75% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 75% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.52 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 66% 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 crime costs Pendleton
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Pendleton about $1,347 a year per household, 12% 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 $28 million a year, or $1,377 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$720,000
$35
Rape
$1.1 million
$55
Robbery
$150,000
$7
Assault
$3.3 million
$161
Burglary
$480,000
$23
Theft
$2.3 million
$111
Vehicle theft
$750,000
$37
Arson
$220,000
$11
Vandalism
$1.7 million
$81
Total
$11 million
$522
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 Pendleton 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.
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 Pendleton, OR average a SchoolGrade of B-: 34% of students test proficient, against 32% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Pendleton on SchoolGrade
