Pendleton, OR Crime Map

Pendleton, OR Safety Overview: What the Data Actually Shows

Pendleton, Oregon — a city of 16,685 residents with a population density of 562 people per square mile — earns an overall crime grade of B, a respectable standing for a small Oregon city carrying a 9.3% unemployment rate and a 14.4% poverty rate. Digging into the six analyzed neighborhoods, however, reveals a sharply divided picture: exactly 50% of neighborhoods score in the safe range (grades A or B), while the other 50% fall into higher-crime territory (grade D). No neighborhood earned an F, but none landed at a C either — the distribution skips the middle almost entirely, making Pendleton a city of clear contrasts rather than a gradual spectrum.

Safest and Highest-Crime Neighborhoods

The safest corners of Pendleton are Meacham, Cayuse, and Kirkpatrick. Meacham holds the top spot with a Grade A and a median household income of $66,667 — notably above the city median of $54,834. Cayuse and Kirkpatrick both earn a B+, with median incomes of $70,956 and $69,018 respectively, suggesting a meaningful correlation between household income and neighborhood safety in this city. These three areas represent the upper tier of Pendleton's safety profile and stand out as the most secure options for residents and prospective home buyers. On the other end of the scale, Tutuilla, Mission, and Gopher Flats each receive a D+. Tutuilla, the most populated of the three at 636 residents, has a median income of $45,225 — roughly $9,600 below the city average. Mission (242 residents, $45,152 median income) and Gopher Flats (71 residents, $45,135 median income) follow a nearly identical economic profile, pointing to concentrated economic stress as a consistent factor in these higher-crime areas.

How Crime Grades Are Distributed Across the City

Of the six neighborhoods analyzed, one (16.7%) earned a Grade A, two (33.3%) earned a Grade B, and three (50%) landed at Grade D. The complete absence of C-grade neighborhoods is notable — it means there is no true middle ground in Pendleton's safety landscape. Residents are essentially choosing between well-performing areas and underperforming ones, with very little ambiguity in between. This polarized distribution makes neighborhood selection especially consequential for anyone relocating to or within Pendleton.

Property Crime vs. Violent Crime in Pendleton

In a city with a median home value of $193,217 and a median rent of just $802, property crime tends to be the more pervasive daily concern for Pendleton residents. Theft, vehicle break-ins, and vandalism are the incident types that appear most frequently in city crime data, particularly in the D-rated neighborhoods where economic pressures are more acute. Violent crime is a less frequent but real factor, with incidents more likely to surface in higher-density or lower-income pockets of the city. The overall B crime grade reflects a city that manages violent crime reasonably well at the aggregate level, even as property crime remains an ongoing pressure point in specific neighborhoods.

How the Crime Map Helps Pendleton Residents Make Better Decisions

For anyone navigating life in Pendleton — whether a first-time renter comparing Mission against Kirkpatrick, a home buyer weighing median values against neighborhood grades, or a daily commuter mapping routes through the city — the interactive crime map translates raw data into actionable context. Renters can cross-reference the $802 median rent against neighborhood safety grades to understand what they are actually getting for their money. Home buyers can see that areas like Cayuse and Kirkpatrick, despite small populations, carry strong safety grades and above-average incomes. Commuters passing through Tutuilla, the most populated D+ neighborhood, can make route decisions with eyes open. The map does not make decisions for anyone, but it replaces guesswork with data — and in a city as geographically compact as Pendleton, that specificity matters.