Best PlacesHood River County, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hood River County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hood River County ranks 437th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Hood River 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.
Hood River County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hood River County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 91% of counties
- Household income$95,468 median, better than 90% of counties
- BikingBetter than 88% of counties
Where Hood River County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,450 a month, better than only 3% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 24% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 27% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 29% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 30% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hood River County
A household needs to earn about $173,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hood River County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $95,468, 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 Hood River County's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 Hood River County
Hood River County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hood River County.
Who works in Hood River County, and how
Work in Hood River County centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Hood River County
Hood River County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 89% of counties and more parkland per resident than 79% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hood River County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hood River County growing, and who is moving in?
Hood River County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Portland, OR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hood River County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hood River County, month by month
Hood River County sees roughly 129 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 Hood River County
Portland International sits about 50 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 Hood River County
Schools across Hood River County average a B−, better than 62% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Maupin Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- South Wasco County High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hood River County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hood River 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 Hood River County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hood River County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of counties and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Hood River County
Is Hood River County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hood River County ranks 437th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, clean air, and population health, and lowest on childcare costs and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hood River County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $686,921. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $95,468 median income, cost of living beats 77% of counties.
Is Hood River County safe?
Hood River County is safer than 52% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $428 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hood River County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 30. That works out to about 129 pleasant days a year, more than 82% of counties.
Is Hood River County good for families?
Schools beat 62% of counties, crime safety beats 52%, and childcare runs $1,450 a month.
Compare Hood River County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hood River County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hood River 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.
Hood River County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hood River County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hood River County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hood River County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hood River County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hood River 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.