Best PlacesBethany, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the Bethany area, 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.
Bethany ranks 1st of 2098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index, the highest of any. It scores best on population health and lowest on childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Bethany
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.
Bethany's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bethany ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of cities
- School gradeA+, better than 97% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of cities
Where Bethany ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,642 a month, better than only 9% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 22% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 37% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 42% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 46% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Bethany
A household needs to earn about $204,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bethany home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $176,392, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment and a 6.8% 30-year fixed rate. The rate updates weekly from Freddie Mac; property tax uses Bethany's effective rate against the median home value.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first ten 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 Bethany
Bethany's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Bethany.
Who works in Bethany, and how
Work in Bethany centers on manufacturing and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 38%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Bethany
Bethany has more parkland per resident than 89% of cities. The map and measures below show how they vary by area.
What the weather is like in Bethany, month by month
Bethany sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 33. Spring and fall carry most of the comfortable stretch.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 41° | 33° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 38° |
| July | 86° | 69° | 52° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Bethany
Portland International sits about 12 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 9.1 million passengers in 2025, with 117 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Bethany
Schools across Bethany average an A+, better than 97% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Findley ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Jacob Wismer Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Springville K-8 SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stoller Middle SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Meadow Park Middle SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- J W Poynter Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Westview High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Sunset High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Liberty High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bethany school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bethany 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 Bethany against the other 2097 cities.
Who Bethany suits
Families
Schools beat 97% of the country and crime runs low. Compare neighborhoods on the map for the best fit.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 97% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 39% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Bethany
Is Bethany a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bethany ranks 1st of 2098 cities. It scores highest on population health, an educated workforce, and good schools, and lowest on childcare costs and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bethany expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $753,630. The overall cost of living runs about 9% above the national average. Set against a $176,392 median income, cost of living beats 97% of cities.
Is Bethany safe?
Yes, Bethany is safer than 95% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $226 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Bethany?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 33. The area gets its pleasant stretches in spring and fall.
Is Bethany good for families?
Schools beat 97% of cities, and safety is best away from the urban core. Home prices are usually the catch in the strongest school areas.
Compare Bethany with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bethany. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bethany 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.
Bethany detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bethany: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bethany: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bethany: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bethany: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bethany 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.