Best PlacesDeschutes County, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Deschutes County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Deschutes County ranks 163rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $97,366, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, an overheated housing market, and air quality.
The best neighborhoods in Deschutes 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.
The best areas in Deschutes County
The parts of Deschutes County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Bend
Biking is better, streets are more walkable, and schools score higher.
Sisters
More homes sit empty and fewer households have young kids.
Redmond
Prices have run up less, though tree cover is thinner.
La Pine & Three Rivers
Fewer adults hold degrees and incomes run lower.
Deschutes County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 13% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Deschutes County's strengths and weaknesses
Deschutes County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. State infrastructure, the weather, and biking carry most of that.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and air quality also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Deschutes County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 168 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of counties
- BikingBetter than 96% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of counties
Where Deschutes County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,426 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 10% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 31% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 32% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Deschutes County
A household needs to earn about $173,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Deschutes County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $97,366, 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 Deschutes County's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 Deschutes County
Deschutes County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Deschutes County.
Who works in Deschutes County, and how
Work in Deschutes County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Deschutes County
Deschutes County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of counties and more parkland per resident than 69% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Deschutes County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Deschutes County growing, and who is moving in?
Deschutes County has grown about 25% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Portland, OR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Deschutes County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Deschutes County, month by month
Deschutes County sees roughly 168 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 34° | 27° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 35° |
| July | 90° | 72° | 54° |
| October | 66° | 50° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Deschutes County
The nearest airport, Roberts Field, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 121 miles away.
The best schools in and around Deschutes County
Schools across Deschutes County average a B, better than 74% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Highland School At Kenwood Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- High Lakes Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- William E Miller ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pacific Crest Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Realms Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Cascade Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Bend Senior High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Sisters High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- Redmond Proficiency AcademyC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Deschutes County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Deschutes 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 Deschutes County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Deschutes County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of counties and 23% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 96% of counties and health care access beats 58%.
Common questions about living in Deschutes County
Is Deschutes County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Deschutes County ranks 163rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Deschutes County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $678,423. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $97,366 median income, cost of living beats 83% of counties.
Is Deschutes County safe?
Yes, Deschutes County is safer than 89% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $323 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Deschutes County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 27. That works out to about 168 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Deschutes County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Bend, Sisters, and Redmond. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Deschutes County good for families?
Schools beat 74% of counties, crime safety beats 89%, and childcare runs $1,426 a month.
Is Deschutes County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 35% of counties. About 23% of workers already work from home.
Compare Deschutes County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Deschutes County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Deschutes 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.
Deschutes County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Deschutes County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Deschutes County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Deschutes County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Deschutes County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Deschutes 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.