Best PlacesGilliam County, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Gilliam County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Gilliam County ranks 2,083rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Gilliam 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.
Gilliam County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gilliam County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 155 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of counties
- Short commute19.1 minutes each way, better than 84% of counties
- QuietBetter than 80% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 69% of counties
Where Gilliam County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Gilliam County
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gilliam County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,835, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Gilliam County's effective rate of 0.79%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Gilliam County
Gilliam 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 Gilliam County.
Who works in Gilliam County, and how
Work in Gilliam County centers on agriculture & forestry and admin & support services. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Gilliam County
Gilliam County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Gilliam County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Gilliam County growing, and who is moving in?
Gilliam County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Portland, OR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Gilliam County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Gilliam County, month by month
Gilliam County sees roughly 155 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 69° | 53° | 38° |
| July | 96° | 78° | 58° |
| October | 69° | 53° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Gilliam County
The nearest airport, Eastern Oregon Regional at Pendleton, is about 68 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 117 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gilliam County
Schools across Gilliam County average a C−, better than 27% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Heppner Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Condon Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Windy River Elementary SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Condon High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Heppner Junior/senior High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Riverside Junior/senior High SchoolD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gilliam County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gilliam 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 Gilliam County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Gilliam County
Is Gilliam County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gilliam County ranks 2,083rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and short commutes, and lowest on internet speeds and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gilliam County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $209,358. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $66,835 median income, cost of living beats 42% of counties.
Is Gilliam County safe?
Yes, Gilliam County is safer than 57% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $395 per resident a year.
Compare Gilliam County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gilliam County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gilliam 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.
Gilliam County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gilliam County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gilliam County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gilliam County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gilliam County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gilliam 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.