Southwest Washington · Washington
Is Camas Safe? Crime Rates, Safest Neighborhoods & Local Reality (2026)
If you've done any research on Camas before looking at homes here, you've probably seen it near the top of every Washington safety ranking. That's not marketing spin — it reflects something real about how this small city of 27,000 is built, governed, and lived in. But the rankings alone don't tell you why Camas is safe, where the occasional friction points are, or what the numbers actually feel like when you're walking to Lacamas Park at dusk.
The daily reality in Camas is quieter than almost anywhere else in the Portland-Vancouver metro. With roughly 13 violent crimes reported in the most recent full year of data — for a city this size, that's not a rounding error, that's a genuine outlier compared to state and national norms. Property crime exists, particularly around commercial corridors and parking areas, but even that rate has been declining. The city's ownership-heavy housing stock, tight neighborhood fabric, and functional police department all push in the same direction.
This guide breaks down what those crime figures actually mean block by block, compares Camas to the cities around it, and gives you the honest neighborhood-level picture that aggregate safety scores can't. Whether you're weighing Camas against Vancouver or Washougal, or trying to choose between Prune Hill and Lacamas Shores, the answer to "is Camas safe?" deserves more than a ranking number.
Based on FBI UCR data through the 2024 calendar year, Camas registers a violent crime rate of around 2.3 per 1,000 residents and a property crime rate of approximately 17 per 1,000 — though several independent analyses using the same underlying data report figures even lower than that baseline. SafeWise's 2025 report placed Camas at third safest in Washington, with a violent crime rate closer to 0.3 per 1,000 and a property crime rate near 11.5 per 1,000, figures that reflect a continued multi-year downward trend. The divergence between sources comes down to methodology — whether they're annualizing partial-year data, adjusting for population estimates, or using different FBI release cycles — but every credible ranking points the same direction.
What structurally drives these numbers is worth understanding. Camas is predominantly owner-occupied, with a median household income of $141,126 and a housing stock concentrated in established single-family neighborhoods rather than dense rental corridors. That combination — stable ownership, high income, low transient population — consistently correlates with lower crime across American metros, and Camas fits that profile cleanly. The city also lacks the kind of concentrated commercial nightlife or transit-hub density that tends to create property crime clusters in neighboring cities.
For context: Washington's statewide violent crime rate runs roughly 326 per 100,000 residents, and the national rate sits around 359 per 100,000. Camas's violent crime rate, reported around 47 per 100,000 in the most recent data, sits more than 85% below both of those benchmarks. That gap is large enough to be meaningful in daily life, not just on a spreadsheet.
Camas recorded approximately 13 violent crimes in the most recent full reporting year — a figure that local police data confirms is among the lowest per-capita rates in the state. For context, the odds of being a victim of violent crime in Camas are estimated at roughly 1 in 2,100, compared to a statewide rate closer to 1 in 307. In practical terms, this means most Camas residents go years without any direct exposure to violent incidents, and the city's character as a place to raise families, retire, or simply walk to dinner after dark is backed by actual data, not just reputation.
Property crime is where Camas earns its most realistic caution. Approximately 202 property crimes were reported in the most recent year, with larceny-theft — particularly from vehicles — making up the bulk of incidents. These tend to concentrate around commercial areas, the downtown corridor near Heritage Park, and parking lots serving trail access points like Lacamas Lake. Residential burglary is genuinely rare. The property crime rate has declined by roughly 37% over the past two years, a trend city officials attribute partly to the Clark County public safety sales tax that took effect in January 2023, which funds additional law enforcement positions across the county.
Prune Hill sits on elevated terrain in the heart of Camas, and its character as a long-established, owner-dominated neighborhood translates directly into safety data. This is one of the areas where the Camas Police Department consistently logs some of its fastest response times — the proximity to the downtown core and Camas High School puts it well within that sub-six-minute Priority 1 window. The density of young families with school-age children here creates the kind of organic neighborhood watch dynamic that no formal program fully replicates.
Best for: Families who want established neighborhood safety with fast police response and proximity to schools.
Lacamas Shores wraps around the south shore of Lacamas Lake, and its geography does a lot of its safety work passively — limited access points, water boundaries, and a tight HOA community structure mean the neighborhood sees very little through-traffic. The trail systems around Lacamas Park draw outside visitors during peak summer months, and occasional vehicle break-ins near the lake access parking have been reported, but these tend to happen at trailhead lots rather than in the residential streets themselves.
Best for: Buyers who want a quieter, semi-private community feel near natural amenities with low residential crime.
Downtown Camas along NE 4th Avenue is where you'll find the highest concentration of parking-related property crime in the city — not because the area is unsafe, but because it's the one zone that attracts consistent foot traffic, events, and parked vehicles from outside the immediate neighborhood. Heritage Park events, weekend farmers markets, and the restaurant corridor bring activity that's mostly positive but also creates more opportunity for the larceny-from-vehicle incidents that dominate Camas's property crime log. The area is well-lit, regularly patrolled, and genuinely walkable after dark — just don't leave anything visible in your car.
Best for: Buyers who want walkable urban amenity and can live with minor commercial-area nuisances.
Columbia Summit Estates sits on the higher terrain along Camas's northern edges, where lower housing density and larger lot sizes create a distinctly rural-residential feel. This is one of the areas where response times run longer — police data shows that western and northern Camas zones average closer to seven minutes on the highest-priority calls. The tradeoff is genuinely low incident density: fewer commercial properties, no major arterials cutting through, and a neighborhood composition that sees very little opportunistic crime.
Best for: Buyers prioritizing privacy and low incident density who can accept slightly longer emergency response windows.
Green Mountain is anchored by the Green Mountain Golf Course and sits among some of Camas's most expansive residential properties. The low-density layout here means fewer incidents simply by virtue of fewer potential targets and less through-traffic. Neighbors tend to know each other's vehicles and routines — the kind of informal situational awareness that formal crime indexes don't capture but that meaningfully shapes daily experience.
Best for: Buyers seeking large-lot privacy with the informal safety of a close-knit, low-traffic residential enclave.
Fisher's Landing straddles the boundary between Camas and Vancouver, and that position introduces more commercial density than most Camas neighborhoods see — big-box retail, arterial traffic, and a more transient flow of visitors. Property crime rates here trend closer to the Vancouver average than the Camas average, and the SE 192nd Avenue corridor in particular sees more vehicle break-in reports than neighborhoods deeper inside Camas. It's still safer than most Pacific Northwest suburban corridors, but buyers comparing it directly to Prune Hill or Lacamas Shores should expect a measurable difference in ambient activity.
Best for: Buyers who prioritize retail convenience and Vancouver access and are comfortable with more commercial-area activity.
| City | Violent Crime/1K | Property Crime/1K | Overall Safety Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camas, WA | ~2.3 | ~17 | Consistently top-5 safest in Washington; A+ ratings across major indexes |
| Vancouver, WA | ~5.8 | ~42 | Significantly higher across all categories; downtown corridor drives elevated figures |
| Washougal, WA | ~3.1 | ~22 | Safer than Vancouver but notably higher than Camas; small-city feel with some rural crime patterns |
| Gresham, OR | ~6.4 | ~48 | Well above state averages; among the higher-crime suburban cities in the Portland metro |
| Troutdale, OR | ~4.2 | ~31 | Mid-range for Oregon suburbs; commercial corridors elevate property crime numbers |
| Portland, OR | ~7.9 | ~55 | Elevated across categories; wide neighborhood variance; strongest contrast to Camas |
When buyers start researching safety in Camas, they quickly realize that neighborhood choice matters beyond just peace of mind — it directly shapes long-term value. Areas like Prune Hill and Lacamas Shores consistently draw strong buyer demand, partly because of their established, community-oriented feel and the perceived stability that comes with that. Grass Valley has also attracted attention from buyers wanting newer construction in a quieter setting. In all three, well-priced homes under $750,000 move fast — sometimes within days — so being financially prepared isn't optional, it's essential.
That's exactly why I encourage buyers to connect with a lender before they ever walk through a front door. Your true monthly payment in Camas isn't just principal and interest — it includes property taxes, homeowner's insurance, and potentially HOA dues, all of which vary by neighborhood and loan structure. What you're approved for and what fits comfortably into your life are often two different numbers. Knowing your real budget before you fall in love with a home means you can move confidently and quickly when the right one appears.
The one real precaution Camas residents actually practice isn't about personal safety — it's about their cars. Larceny from vehicles is the most common crime report filed with the Camas Police Department, and it clusters predictably: Heritage Park, the Lacamas Lake trailhead parking area off Garrington Road, and the downtown NE 4th Avenue corridor on busy event nights. Locals who've lived here a few years simply don't leave anything visible in parked cars near these areas. It's the kind of low-effort habit that makes a negligible risk essentially zero.
The police department is genuinely excellent but staffed lean. Chief Tina Jones has been candid about the department's growth challenges — Camas operates with roughly 1.16 sworn officers per 1,000 residents against a city council target of 1.5 per 1,000. A February 2025 ballot measure to add positions failed at the polls, meaning staffing gaps persist in the short term. For residents in areas like Columbia Summit Estates or the northern edges of the city, that translates to response times that occasionally run past seven minutes on Priority 1 calls. This is not a crisis — it's a staffing math problem that most fast-growing Washington cities are navigating — but it's the honest gap between Camas's safety reputation and its operational reality.
What the neighborhood safety apps tend to miss about Camas is the degree to which social cohesion functions as a crime deterrent. In neighborhoods like Lacamas Shores, Prune Hill, and Green Mountain, neighbors know each other in ways that have become rare in suburban metro markets. That informal network — the neighbor who notices an unfamiliar car parked for three hours, the HOA group chat that flags a suspicious door-to-door solicitor — operates constantly in the background and doesn't show up in any crime index. It's one reason why even the city's minor property crime numbers have continued declining despite the staffing constraints.
Local Expert Takeaway: For buyers weighing safety as a primary factor, Camas's core residential neighborhoods — Prune Hill, Lacamas Shores, and the streets immediately surrounding Lacamas Lake — offer the most consistent combination of fast response times and low incident density. If you're looking at properties in northern Camas or near the Fisher's Landing commercial corridor, factor in the longer response window and more active commercial traffic. Vehicle security near Heritage Park and the Garrington Road trailhead is the one practical habit worth building immediately after you move in.
✅ Camas is among the safest cities in Washington — violent crime runs more than 85% below the national average, and property crime has declined roughly 37% over the past two years.
⚠️ Vehicle break-ins near trailhead parking and Heritage Park are the most common crime type — a simple precaution removes most of the risk.
📍 Response times vary by neighborhood — the downtown and Lacamas Lake core averages under six minutes; northern and western areas run closer to seven minutes due to current staffing levels.
Is Camas a good place to raise a family?
Yes, Camas consistently ranks among the top cities in Washington for families — combining low crime rates, an A-rated school district, and an abundance of parks and outdoor access that give children genuine room to grow. The community fabric here is active and engaged, which reinforces the safety picture that the statistics already support.
What is the crime rate in Camas?
Based on the most recent FBI data, Camas's violent crime rate sits around 2.3 per 1,000 residents and property crime around 17 per 1,000 — well below Washington state and national averages. Multiple independent safety rankings place Camas in the top five to ten safest cities in the state, with the violent crime rate running more than 85% below national norms.
How does Camas compare to nearby Vancouver and Portland for safety?
The contrast is significant. Vancouver's violent crime rate runs roughly 2.5 times higher than Camas's, and Portland's is more than three times higher. For buyers relocating from either of those cities, Camas will feel noticeably quieter and lower-stress in ways that go beyond numbers — less visible disorder, more neighborhood cohesion, and a police department whose motto ("No Call Too Small") reflects a genuinely community-oriented operating style.
Explore the full Camas series: Living in Camas · Is Camas Safe? · Cost of Living · Best Neighborhoods · Schools & Family Life · Youth Sports · Parks & Rec · Retiring in Camas