Best PlacesKlamath County, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Klamath County, 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.
Klamath County ranks 1,828th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Klamath 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.
Klamath County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Klamath County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 148 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of counties
- TransitBetter than 88% of counties
- Short commute17.9 minutes each way, better than 88% of counties
- BikingBetter than 88% of counties
Where Klamath County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of counties
- School gradeC−, better than only 18% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Klamath County
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Klamath County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $63,890, 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 Klamath County's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Klamath County
Klamath 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 Klamath County.
Who works in Klamath County, and how
Work in Klamath County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Klamath County
Klamath County has more late-night spots per resident than 68% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Klamath County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Klamath County growing, and who is moving in?
Klamath County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Bend, OR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Klamath County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Klamath County, month by month
Klamath County sees roughly 148 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 62° | 45° | 29° |
| July | 90° | 70° | 47° |
| October | 67° | 47° | 29° |
Flying in and out of Klamath County
The nearest airport, Rogue Valley International/Medford, is about 59 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 232 miles away.
The best schools in and around Klamath County
Schools across Klamath County average a C−, better than 18% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Roosevelt Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Henley Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Malin Elementary SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ponderosa Middle SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Henley Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Brixner Junior High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Klamath Union High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Lost River High SchoolC− · 25% proficient
- Mazama High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Klamath County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Klamath 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 Klamath County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Klamath County suits
Families
Schools land around the 18th percentile and crime safety beats 67%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Klamath County
Is Klamath County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Klamath County ranks 1,828th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and transit, and lowest on an overheated housing market and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Klamath County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $280,260. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $63,890 median income, cost of living beats 19% of counties.
Is Klamath County safe?
Yes, Klamath County is safer than 67% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $402 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Klamath County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 22. That works out to about 148 pleasant days a year, more than 92% of counties.
Is Klamath County good for families?
Schools beat 18% of counties, crime safety beats 67%, and childcare runs $849 a month.
Compare Klamath County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Klamath County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Klamath 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.
Klamath County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Klamath County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Klamath County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Klamath County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Klamath County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Klamath 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.