Your Chance of Living Near A Sex Offender In The Northwest Is…

It's something you never want to think about, but know it is a reality.  Is there a sex offender living in your development, on your block, across the street, or even next door?  The amount of sex offenders in the Northwest may surprise you.  The reason the numbers are what they are may take you aback even further.

Data from SafeHome.org (as of September 2024) shows Oregon far and away the leader in the number of sex offenders per 100,000 people.  Oregon has a population of just over 4.2 million people and have 33,421 sex offenders registered.  That maths out to 790 sex offenders per 100,000 people. The 33,421 offenders is good for sixth most in the U.S. behind much larger States like Texas, California, New York, Michigan, and Illinois.

Washington State has 17,576 registered sex offenders statewide.  With a population near 8 million (close to double that or Oregon) their number of sex offenders per 100,000 people is lower (229).  Idaho has a higher number of sex offenders per 100,000 than Washington (282) but they have a significantly smaller population (less than 2 million) and makes their number of sex offenders (5,236) higher per capita.

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Why Is Oregon's Number So High?

There are a number of reasons:

The Beaver State is right above California.  Level 1 and Level 2 sex offenders from California may migrate north because Oregon does not impose any restrictions on those offenders.  They only impose restrictions on Level 3 offenders, which are the most likely to re-offend.  Additionally, not all sex offenders are required to register in the State.  Oregon also doesn't prohibit sex offenders from living near, schools, parks, playgrounds, or any other place that children gather.

Another factor may be that Oregon publishes the numbers of all sex offenders, even though they only track the most severe cases.  They also have more than two dozen crimes that qualify as sex offenses.  Sex offenders in Oregon are also registered for life, so the only way the number goes down is when an offender passes away.

What is Different in Washington?

Washington State has tiers for sex offenders and the need for them to register.  If convicted of a Class A felony sex offense, committed a federal, tribal or out of state sex crime, or are labeled a violent sexual predator, that person must be register for the rest of their life.  If it's a Class B felony sex offense, that person can come off the registry after 15 years if they do not commit a qualifying crime in that time frame.

A Class C felony sex offender can come off the list after ten years without committing a qualifying crime.  There are also other circumstances that could allow someone to come off the sex offender registry in as little as two or three years.  It begs the question...which situation is actually worse?

Oregon's high number accounts for every person who has committed a sex crime, regardless of level (that has complied with the law and registered), for the rest of their life.  In Washington, you can commit a sex offense and potentially come off the registry, meaning a sex offender could live near you and you won't know it.

I did a search for sex offenders near my address in Washington through the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs website.  It showed 45 sex offenders in a 5 mile radius.  That's 45 that are still required to register.  I have no idea how many people that have committed a sex offense are in that radius because of Washington State law.

Even though Oregon continually has the highest rate per capita, at least their residents always know how many sex offenders live near them.