Best PlacesOregon Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Oregon, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Oregon ranks 23rd of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. Its strengths are biking and state infrastructure. The cost shows up in disaster risk, childcare costs, and a weak job market.
The best neighborhoods in Oregon
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.
The best areas in Oregon
The counties of Oregon, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Multnomah County, Washington County & Clackamas County
Big-city amenities are closer, biking is better, and incomes run higher.
Deschutes County
Tree cover is thinner and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Clatsop County & Tillamook County
Heat risk is lower, though disaster risk is higher.
Lane County, Marion County & Benton County
Local pay stretches less far.
Jackson County
Commutes are shorter, though the air is dirtier.
Klamath County & Malheur County
More homes sit empty and prices have run up more.
Umatilla County, Hood River County & Wasco County
More households have young kids, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Douglas County, Josephine County & Coos County
Homes cost less, though health outcomes score lower.
Oregon shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Oregon's strengths and weaknesses
Oregon lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Biking, state infrastructure, and few empty homes carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Disaster risk, childcare costs, and a weak job market hold the score down. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Oregon ranks high
- BikingBetter than 95% of states
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of states
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of states
- Air qualityBetter than 86% of states
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of states
Where Oregon ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 15% of states
- Cheap childcare$1,361 a month, better than only 17% of states
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of states
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 27% of states
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 27% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Oregon
A household needs to earn about $132,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Oregon home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $91,595, 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 Oregon's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 Oregon
Oregon's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Oregon.
Who works in Oregon, and how
Work in Oregon centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Oregon
Oregon has less parkland per resident than most states and more late-night spots per resident than 96% of states. Oregon has 296 miles of ocean coastline. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Oregon and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Oregon, month by month
Oregon sees roughly 112 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 42° | 36° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 43° |
| July | 86° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 46° |
The best schools in and around Oregon
Schools across Oregon average a B−, better than 69% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Findley ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Bethany Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Haines Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stoller Middle SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Three Rivers Charter SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Philomath Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top high schools
- Centennial High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Forest Grove High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Central High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Oregon school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Oregon 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 Oregon against the other 49 states.
Who Oregon suits
Common questions about living in Oregon
Is Oregon a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Oregon ranks 23rd of 50 states. It scores highest on biking, state infrastructure, and few empty homes, and lowest on disaster risk and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Oregon expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $504,762. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $91,595 median income, cost of living beats 31% of states.
Is Oregon safe?
Yes, Oregon is safer than 55% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $461 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Oregon?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 36. That works out to about 112 pleasant days a year, more than 67% of states.
What are the best areas in Oregon?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Multnomah County, Washington County & Clackamas County, Deschutes County, and Clatsop County & Tillamook County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Oregon good for families?
Schools beat 69% of states, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $1,361 a month.
Is Oregon good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 31% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 57% of states. About 18% of workers already work from home.
Compare Oregon with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Oregon. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Oregon 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.
Oregon detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Oregon: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Oregon: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Oregon: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Oregon: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Oregon 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.
- 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.