The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Union County, OR
Union County is home to 26,100 residents and includes La Grande and Union · Updated November 2026
Is Union County, OR safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Union County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 92% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Union County run from A+ to B, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 966 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
92% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Union County as a whole, and 8% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Union County scores 966.
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 Union County, OR at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Union 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 Union County
Burglaries happen in the morning far more often than nationally. In Union County, 46% of reported burglaries happen in the morning (6 am to noon), against 25% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Union County
Every part of Union County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Union County run from A+ to B; 60% 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.
Cities and towns in Union 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 northeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Union County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Union County is up 99%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 0.9 to 1.9 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 20 to 21 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 33% and property crime rose 25%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Union CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Union County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Union County
Violent, US
Property, Union County
Property, US
2016
+62%
+4%
+15%
+15%
2017
+10%
+4%
-2%
+12%
2018
-11%
+0%
-8%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+32%
+4%
+1%
-8%
2021
+128%
+6%
-14%
-10%
2022
+151%
+5%
-6%
-6%
2023
+212%
+2%
-18%
-7%
2024
+109%
-4%
+3%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Union County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Union County has about 40 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 8% more than the US as a whole and close to 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 39% of crime reported in Union County. 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 Union County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Union County, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 48% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (48%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Car theft
Homes (32%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (48%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (28%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Aggravated assault
Homes (65%)
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 Union County compares with nearby counties
Union County has less crime than 5 of its 10 nearest counties.
One thing sets Union County apart: it has 3% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less robbery.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.13.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 91% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.3% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 86% 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. 73% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (22 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 69% of Americans
Show all 6
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.60% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 78% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.5.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 66% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.39 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower 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 Union County
Crime costs Union County about $968 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 20% less 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 $1,080 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.6 million
$62
Rape
$620,000
$24
Robbery
$150,000
$6
Assault
$2.4 million
$93
Burglary
$670,000
$25
Theft
$2.1 million
$80
Vehicle theft
$700,000
$27
Arson
$200,000
$8
Vandalism
$1.9 million
$74
Total
$10 million
$399
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 Union 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. Union 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 Union County, OR average a SchoolGrade of B-: 34% of students test proficient, against 39% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Union County on SchoolGrade
