Best PlacesWheeler County, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Wheeler 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.
Wheeler County ranks 2,568th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Wheeler 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.
Wheeler County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Wheeler County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 169 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of counties
- QuietBetter than 96% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of counties
Where Wheeler County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Wheeler County
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Wheeler County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $55,104, 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 Wheeler County'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 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 Wheeler County
Wheeler 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 Wheeler County.
Who works in Wheeler County, and how
Work in Wheeler County centers on public administration and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Wheeler County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Wheeler County.
Is Wheeler County growing, and who is moving in?
Wheeler County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Modoc County, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Wheeler County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Wheeler County, month by month
Wheeler County sees roughly 169 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 36° | 29° |
| April | 66° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 95° | 77° | 56° |
| October | 69° | 52° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Wheeler County
The nearest airport, Roberts Field, is about 66 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around Wheeler County
Schools across Wheeler County average a C+, better than 57% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Condon Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Condon High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Wheeler County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Wheeler 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 Wheeler County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Wheeler County
Is Wheeler County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Wheeler County ranks 2,568th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and quiet, and lowest on internet speeds and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Wheeler County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $309,118. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $55,104 median income, cost of living beats 10% of counties.
Is Wheeler County safe?
Wheeler County is safer than 19% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $586 per resident a year.
Compare Wheeler County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Wheeler County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Wheeler 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.
Wheeler County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Wheeler County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Wheeler County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Wheeler County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Wheeler County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Wheeler 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.