The 10 Best Counties To Live In Oregon For 2024


The best counties in Oregon are Clackamas County and Washington County for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Oregon a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Oregon.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Beaver State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.

The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Oregon, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 36 counties in the state.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary


Clackamas County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Oregon. And you should avoid Malheur County if you can — at least according to the data.

Now you know exactly where to move in Oregon. Keep on reading for more about the top ten and a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Oregon and the cheapest places to live in Oregon.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The Best Counties To Live In Oregon For 2024

1. Clackamas County

Canby, OR

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Portland
Population: 420,925
Median Income: $95,740 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $601,201 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.0% (9th best)
More on Clackamas CountyData

2. Washington County

Beaverton, OR

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Portland
Population: 599,541
Median Income: $100,121 (best)
Median Home Price: $568,915 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (7th best)
More on Washington CountyData

3. Deschutes County

Bend, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Cacophony | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Bend
Population: 199,352
Median Income: $82,042 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $662,115 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (10th best)
More on Deschutes CountyData

4. Columbia County

Columbia City, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Tedder | CC BY 3.0

Biggest Place: St. Helens
Population: 52,865
Median Income: $83,265 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $434,012 (15th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (6th best)
More on Columbia CountyData

5. Polk County

Dallas, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Tedder | CC BY 3.0

Biggest Place: Salem
Population: 87,600
Median Income: $77,353 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $458,607 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.3% (12th best)
More on Polk CountyData

6. Multnomah County

Fairview, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Finetooth | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Portland
Population: 808,098
Median Income: $83,668 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $493,722 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (17th best)
More on Multnomah CountyData

7. Crook County

Prineville, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Cacophony | GFDL

Biggest Place: Prineville
Population: 24,987
Median Income: $74,969 (9th best)
Median Home Price: $444,148 (13th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.1% (4th best)
More on Crook CountyData

8. Yamhill County

Dayton, OR

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: McMinnville
Population: 107,674
Median Income: $80,125 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $489,400 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.1% (5th best)
More on Yamhill CountyData

9. Tillamook County

Tillamook, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Meronim | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Tillamook
Population: 27,345
Median Income: $63,098 (20th best)
Median Home Price: $518,035 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (11th best)
More on Tillamook CountyData

10. Hood River County

Hood River, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Sam Beebe | CC BY 2.0

Biggest Place: Hood River
Population: 23,965
Median Income: $80,254 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $669,323 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (3rd best)
More on Hood River CountyData

Methodology: How do you determine which Oregon county is the best?

To give you the best county in Oregon, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.

We paid particular attention to:

  • Violent Crime Rates
  • Property Crime Rates
  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Unemployment Rates
  • Adult Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in Oregon across each of the criteria from one to 36, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Oregon.”

The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Beaver State.

We updated this article for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best counties to live in Oregon.

Read on to see why Clackamas County is the best county, while Malheur County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Oregon.

Summary: The Best Counties In Oregon To Call Home For 2024

Living in Oregon can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

The best counties in Oregon are Clackamas County, Washington County, Deschutes County, Columbia County, Polk County, Multnomah County, Crook County, Yamhill County, Tillamook County, and Hood River County.

But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.

You are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Oregon according to the data:

  1. Malheur County
  2. Lake County
  3. Grant County

For more Oregon reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Oregon

Rank County Population Median Income Median Home Price
1 Clackamas County 420,925 $95,740 $601,201
2 Washington County 599,541 $100,121 $568,915
3 Deschutes County 199,352 $82,042 $662,115
4 Columbia County 52,865 $83,265 $434,012
5 Polk County 87,600 $77,353 $458,607
6 Multnomah County 808,098 $83,668 $493,722
7 Crook County 24,987 $74,969 $444,148
8 Yamhill County 107,674 $80,125 $489,400
9 Tillamook County 27,345 $63,098 $518,035
10 Hood River County 23,965 $80,254 $669,323
11 Clatsop County 41,190 $68,025 $516,116
12 Benton County 95,615 $72,882 $527,449
13 Wheeler County 1,407 $50,774 $271,411
14 Wallowa County 7,439 $62,238 $417,988
15 Curry County 23,404 $64,300 $461,690
16 Jackson County 222,604 $67,690 $420,662
17 Lane County 382,218 $65,157 $443,158
18 Linn County 128,598 $69,523 $392,883
19 Douglas County 111,322 $56,440 $331,387
20 Sherman County 1,900 $57,171 $243,509
21 Marion County 345,815 $70,926 $424,796
22 Umatilla County 79,904 $70,322 $293,385
23 Union County 26,286 $61,946 $301,944
24 Baker County 16,685 $51,657 $274,130
25 Coos County 64,908 $57,563 $348,969
26 Lincoln County 50,334 $57,794 $479,695
27 Gilliam County 1,983 $58,409 $222,914
28 Morrow County 12,140 $64,975 $285,372
29 Harney County 7,496 $45,462 $201,759
30 Jefferson County 24,659 $69,345 $406,884
31 Wasco County 26,639 $61,316 $380,219
32 Josephine County 87,994 $56,068 $393,248
33 Klamath County 69,506 $57,219 $284,940
34 Grant County 7,237 $56,045 $268,437
35 Lake County 8,201 $54,663 $174,257
36 Malheur County 31,538 $48,371 $273,745
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.