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The average property crime rate can be found for nation, but it is for all states, all community sizes. I wanted to know what was average for moderate sized cities (100k-500k) in the west, but outside California. I found the rates for 25 example cities (not all).
Here are the high, medium and low groups:
High property crime rate (about 20% or more above average for this group)
Olympia WA, Everett WA, Missoula MT, Billings MT, Grand Junction CO, Pueblo CO (by far highest in group), Las Cruces NM and Ogden UT.
Near average (plus or minus 20% from average for this group)
Salem OR, Corvallis OR, Wenatchee WA, Coeur d'Alene, Twin Falls ID, Cheyenne WY, Aurora CO, Carson City NV, Sante Fe NM and Flagstaff AZ.
Lower than average property crime rate (lower by at least 20% than for this group)
Bend OR, Idaho Falls ID, Fort Collins CO, Henderson NV, Prescott AZ, Provo UT and St George UT.
The average property crime score for this group at a commonly used site is 51. This is almost 44% above the national average of 35.4 for all states, all community sizes and might cause heightened concern. But I think it is useful to know what is average for these mid-sized western cities. The rate for such a city might be acceptable to you knowing what is average for this group or not, but this is closer to an apples to apples comparison than comparing small towns all the way to big cities. Cheyenne was closest to average for this group with a score of 49.
Suburbs and rural areas near these cities almost always have way lower property crime rates than the main nearby mid-sized city in the west.
Violent crime is a whole other topic, greatly influenced by who you are, what you do / where you go, who you know / meet. Property crime is influenced by person and behavior too but it is somewhat more random.
Rates can change over time and different reporting practices can affect appearances and comparisons. There also are some potential issues with some ratings and it may not be fully up to date. Fwiw. An alternative is go directly to the FBI site and look into the detail.
The average property crime rate can be found for nation, but it is for all states, all community sizes. I wanted to know what was average for moderate sized cities (100k-500k) in the west, but outside California. I found the rates for 25 example cities (not all).
Here are the high, medium and low groups:
High property crime rate
Olympia WA, Everett WA, Missoula MT, Billings MT, Grand Junction CO, Pueblo CO (by far highest in group), Las Cruces NM and Ogden UT.
Near average
Salem OR, Corvallis OR, Wenatchee WA, Coeur d'Alene, Twin Falls ID, Cheyenne WY, Aurora CO, Carson City NV and Flagstaff AZ.
Lower than average property crime rate
Bend OR, Idaho Falls ID, Fort Collins CO, Henderson NV, Prescott AZ, Provo UT and St George UT.
Not surprised Olympia and Everett are up there, I bet Mt. Vernon and Longview are the same or higher.
I am a bit surprised Salem is just average, it always felt kinda desolate and sketchy. The "nicest" larger towns along I-5 in WA/OR are Bellingham, Roseburg, and Springfield (not Eugene).
Salem OR is just barely in the middle group, 1 point away from being high.
Springfield OR is a few points into the high group. Until recently it's property crime rate was clearly worse than national average but it has come down significantly.
My understanding is that the only property crimes included in this property crime rate are burglary, larceny and auto theft. Not vandalism. Or some other things.
But, yes, it has to be reported and counted officially to be included in public data reports.
The worse the public data reports, more is likely not reported / counted. The reports are not perfect but are the main guide we have.
Carson City is smaller than my stated minimum population size. Should have used Reno. Property crime rate only slightly higher and still in the low end of the mid-range group.
Violent cities tend to have low reporting rates for property crimes. Who bothers reporting a broken window in a high-murder area?
These stats are extremely skewed.
There are nonviolent cities that have low reporting rates for property crime, too. Any urban area in the PNW (low violent crime) will have low reporting rates because pretty much no one bothers to file a police report if they are a victim of property crime because it’s so common. Same with SF.
But yeah, property crime stats should be taken with a grain of salt because of underreporting.
Not surprised Olympia and Everett are up there, I bet Mt. Vernon and Longview are the same or higher.
High property crime in west coast cities from California all the way up into BC is not shocking. I'd say most of it is car break ins if I had to guess. There is a large homeless problem all up and down the west coast no matter where you go. Lots of other states ship there homeless people out here which exacerbates the issue. I've lived all over Olympia for years now and never felt unsafe. Just don't leave valuables in plain sight in your car...it's basically an unwritten law on the west coast.
Look at published property crime rates as a rough guide to places you don't know firsthand and thoroughly... or not. I am going to look at them... and then visit and look & guess firsthand if a place passes the stats test or might be close to acceptable in some part of the place.
My underlying point was that some places might look high relative to national average but are "normal" or close to it for than sized place / style of life. That was news to me, having seen stats for some cities that looked too high to me compared to national average. But if I pick this population size range, my choices are going to be in this range of property crime rates. So some places I was thinking of rejecting are probably still on the table now. And I have a better sense of the range available now. Consider this information if you wish.
Last edited by NW Crow; 09-18-2023 at 09:23 AM..
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