Best PlacesSandlake, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Sandlake, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Sandlake ranks 40,028th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Sandlake
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.
Sandlake's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sandlake ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of towns
- Short commute21.1 minutes each way, better than 84% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 115 pleasant days a year, better than 77% of towns
Where Sandlake ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 7% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Sandlake
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sandlake home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $63,165, 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 Sandlake's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Sandlake
Sandlake runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Sandlake.
Who works in Sandlake, and how
Work in Sandlake centers on construction and admin & support services. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Sandlake
The coast is about 16 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Sandlake, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Sandlake, month by month
Sandlake sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 70 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 44° | 38° |
| April | 58° | 49° | 41° |
| July | 70° | 60° | 52° |
| October | 63° | 53° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Sandlake
The nearest airport, McNary Field, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 66 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sandlake
Schools across Sandlake average a D+, better than 17% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- South Prairie Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Nestucca K8D+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tillamook Junior High SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Tillamook High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Nestucca High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sandlake school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sandlake 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 Sandlake against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Sandlake
Is Sandlake a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sandlake ranks 40,028th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, clean air, and tree cover, and lowest on cell coverage and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sandlake expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $374,029. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $63,165 median income, cost of living beats 13% of towns.
Is Sandlake safe?
Sandlake is safer than 53% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $365 per resident a year.
Compare Sandlake with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sandlake. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sandlake 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.
Sandlake detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sandlake: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sandlake: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sandlake: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sandlake: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sandlake 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.