Best PlacesImbler, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Imbler, 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.
Imbler ranks 34,927th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Imbler
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.
Imbler's strengths and weaknesses
Where Imbler ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of towns
- TransitBetter than 89% of towns
- Short commute22.2 minutes each way, better than 79% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 78% of towns
Where Imbler ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 14% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 15% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 18% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Imbler
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Imbler home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $64,269, 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 Imbler's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Imbler
Imbler 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 Imbler.
Who works in Imbler, and how
Work in Imbler centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Imbler
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Imbler.
What the weather is like in Imbler, month by month
Imbler sees roughly 106 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 33° | 25° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 33° |
| July | 91° | 72° | 51° |
| October | 64° | 49° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Imbler
The nearest airport, Walla Walla Regional, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 157 miles away.
The best schools in and around Imbler
Schools across Imbler average a D+, better than 14% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Island City Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Stella Mayfield Elementary SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- La Grande Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- La Grande High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Elgin High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Imbler school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Imbler 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 Imbler against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Imbler
Is Imbler a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Imbler ranks 34,927th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, clean air, and transit, and lowest on distance from a big city and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Imbler expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $336,531. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $64,269 median income, cost of living beats 24% of towns.
Is Imbler safe?
Imbler is safer than 51% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $369 per resident a year.
Compare Imbler with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Imbler. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Imbler 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.
Imbler detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Imbler: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Imbler: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Imbler: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Imbler: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Imbler 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.