Best PlacesGovernment Camp, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Government Camp, 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.
Government Camp ranks 24,658th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Government Camp
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.
Government Camp's strengths and weaknesses
Where Government Camp ranks high
- BikingBetter than 98% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 95% of towns
- TransitBetter than 95% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of towns
Where Government Camp ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,522 a month, better than only 2% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Government Camp
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Government Camp home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $78,544, 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 Government Camp's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Government Camp
Government Camp 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 Government Camp.
Who works in Government Camp, and how
Work in Government Camp centers on professional & technical and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 44%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 25%
Life in Government Camp
Government Camp has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Government Camp and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Government Camp, month by month
Government Camp sees roughly 99 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 36° | 30° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 40° |
| July | 93° | 77° | 61° |
| October | 69° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Government Camp
Portland International sits about 46 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 9.1 million passengers in 2025, with 117 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Government Camp
Schools across Government Camp average a B, better than 65% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Clackamas River Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Maupin Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Estacada Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Estacada High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- South Wasco County High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Government Camp school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Government Camp 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 Government Camp against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Government Camp
Is Government Camp a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Government Camp ranks 24,658th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on biking, state infrastructure, and a strong job market, and lowest on childcare costs and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Government Camp expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $144,030. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $78,544 median income, cost of living beats 29% of towns.
Is Government Camp safe?
Government Camp is safer than 5% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $871 per resident a year.
Compare Government Camp with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Government Camp. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Government Camp 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.
Government Camp detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Government Camp: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Government Camp: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Government Camp: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Government Camp: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Government Camp 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.
- 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.