Best PlacesMolalla, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Molalla, 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.
Molalla ranks 15,221st of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 Molalla
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.
Molalla's strengths and weaknesses
Where Molalla ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of towns
- TransitBetter than 96% of towns
- BikingBetter than 95% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of towns
Where Molalla ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,525 a month, better than only 2% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 19% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 24% of towns
- School gradeC−, better than only 25% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Molalla
A household needs to earn about $129,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Molalla home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $88,788, 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 Molalla's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 Molalla
Molalla runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Molalla.
Who works in Molalla, and how
Work in Molalla centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Molalla
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Molalla.
What the weather is like in Molalla, month by month
Molalla sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 42° | 35° |
| April | 65° | 52° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 70° | 55° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Molalla
The nearest airport, McNary Field, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 31 miles away.
The best schools in and around Molalla
Schools across Molalla average a C−, better than 25% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Scotts Mills Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Colton Elementary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Butte Creek Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Molalla River Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- Colton Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- John F Kennedy High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Colton High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Molalla High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Molalla school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Molalla 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 Molalla against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Molalla
Is Molalla a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Molalla ranks 15,221st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, transit, and biking, 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 Molalla expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $506,253. The overall cost of living runs about 9% above the national average. Set against a $88,788 median income, cost of living beats 46% of towns.
Is Molalla safe?
Yes, Molalla is safer than 81% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $276 per resident a year.
Compare Molalla with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Molalla. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Molalla 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.
Molalla detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Molalla: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Molalla: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Molalla: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Molalla: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Molalla 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.