Best PlacesBaker County, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Baker County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Baker County ranks 821st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Baker County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Baker County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Baker County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of counties
- Short commute15.1 minutes each way, better than 96% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 157 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of counties
Where Baker County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 24% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 31% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Baker County
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Baker County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,870, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Baker County's effective rate of 0.73%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Baker County
Baker County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Baker County.
Who works in Baker County, and how
Work in Baker County centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Baker County
Baker County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Baker County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Baker County growing, and who is moving in?
Baker County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Union County, OR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Baker County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Baker County, month by month
Baker County sees roughly 157 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 29° | 19° |
| April | 62° | 45° | 29° |
| July | 91° | 70° | 47° |
| October | 65° | 46° | 30° |
Flying in and out of Baker County
The nearest airport, Eastern Oregon Regional at Pendleton, is about 82 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 114 miles away.
The best schools in and around Baker County
Schools across Baker County average a B+, better than 81% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Haines Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Brooklyn Primary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Cambridge Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Weiser Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- South Baker Intermediate SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Enterprise High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Council Jr/sr High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Weiser High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Baker County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Baker County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Baker County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Baker County
Is Baker County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Baker County ranks 821st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, short commutes, and the weather, and lowest on distance from a big city and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Baker County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $295,061. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $65,870 median income, cost of living beats 24% of counties.
Is Baker County safe?
Yes, Baker County is safer than 91% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $293 per resident a year.
Compare Baker County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Baker County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Baker County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Baker County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Baker County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Baker County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Baker County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Baker County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Baker County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.