Best PlacesMorrow County, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Morrow County, 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.
Morrow County ranks 1,761st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Morrow 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.
Morrow County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Morrow County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 157 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of counties
- TransitBetter than 84% of counties
- BikingBetter than 83% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 72% of counties
Where Morrow County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 5% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 14% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Morrow County
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Morrow County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,409, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Morrow County's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 Morrow County
Morrow County 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 Morrow County.
Who works in Morrow County, and how
Work in Morrow County centers on agriculture & forestry and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Morrow County
Morrow County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of counties and more parkland per resident than 96% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Morrow County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Morrow County growing, and who is moving in?
Morrow County has grown about 11% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Umatilla County, OR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Morrow County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Morrow County, month by month
Morrow County sees roughly 157 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 Morrow County
The nearest airport, Eastern Oregon Regional at Pendleton, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 144 miles away.
The best schools in and around Morrow County
Schools across Morrow County average a D+, better than 14% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Heppner Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Condon Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Stanfield Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Irrigon Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Windy River Elementary SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Condon High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Heppner Junior/senior High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Pilot Rock High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Morrow County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Morrow 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 Morrow County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Morrow County
Is Morrow County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Morrow County ranks 1,761st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and transit, and lowest on education levels 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 Morrow County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $256,430. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $74,409 median income, cost of living beats 39% of counties.
Is Morrow County safe?
Yes, Morrow County is safer than 60% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $383 per resident a year.
Compare Morrow County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Morrow County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Morrow 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.
Morrow County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Morrow County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Morrow County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Morrow County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Morrow County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Morrow 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.