Best PlacesHermiston, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hermiston, 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.
Hermiston ranks 1,346th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hermiston
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.
Hermiston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hermiston ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of cities
- Short commute19.5 minutes each way, better than 89% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 155 pleasant days a year, better than 84% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 80% of cities
- QuietBetter than 80% of cities
Where Hermiston ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 9% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Hermiston
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hermiston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $72,163, 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 Hermiston's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hermiston
Hermiston runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hermiston.
Who works in Hermiston, and how
Work in Hermiston 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 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Hermiston
Hermiston has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of cities and more parkland per resident than 85% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hermiston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Hermiston, month by month
Hermiston 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 Hermiston
The nearest airport, Eastern Oregon Regional at Pendleton, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 161 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hermiston
Schools across Hermiston average a C+, better than 43% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Stanfield Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- A C Houghton Elementary SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sunridge Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Irrigon Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Umatilla High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Pendleton High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Irrigon Junior/senior High SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hermiston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hermiston 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 Hermiston against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Hermiston suits
Families
Schools land around the 43rd percentile and crime safety beats 67%.
Common questions about living in Hermiston
Is Hermiston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hermiston ranks 1,346th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state infrastructure, short commutes, and the weather, and lowest on internet speeds and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hermiston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $309,379. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $72,163 median income, cost of living beats 17% of cities.
Is Hermiston safe?
Yes, Hermiston is safer than 67% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $345 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hermiston?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 26. That works out to about 155 pleasant days a year, more than 84% of cities.
Is Hermiston good for families?
Schools beat 43% of cities, crime safety beats 67%, and childcare runs $849 a month.
Compare Hermiston with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hermiston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hermiston 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.
Hermiston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hermiston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hermiston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hermiston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hermiston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hermiston 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.