The 10 Worst Small Towns In Oregon For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which teeny specks in OR are the pits.

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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the worst small places to live in Oregon.

Most Americans have never been to Oregon. However, as the people who live there know, Oregon is an awesome state.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Oregon has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Beaver State. Don't shoot the messenger, this is all using data.

After analyzing more than 116 of Oregon's smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Oregon where you'd never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in Oregon for 2022:

  1. Warm Springs
  2. Oakridge
  3. Falls City
  4. Tri-City
  5. Vale
  6. Burns
  7. Grand Ronde
  8. La Pine
  9. Irrigon
  10. Toledo

So what is the worst small town to call home in Oregon for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Warm Springs is the worst small town to live in Oregon.

Of course, many of these cities would rank highly if they were in other states, since Oregon has its stuff figured out.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Oregon or the worst places to live in Oregon.

If you're looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Oregon For 2022

1. Warm Springs

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,702
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $94,600 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 20.2% (2nd worst)
More on Warm Springs:  Data

2. Oakridge

Oakridge, OR

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,336
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $119,200 (12th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 17.5% (4th worst)
More on Oakridge:  Data | Photos

3. Falls City

Source: Public Domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,496
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Home Value: $167,100 (27th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 14.6% (6th worst)
More on Falls City:  Data

4. Tri-City

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 4,449
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 3)
Median Home Value: $175,100 (32nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 18.4% (3rd worst)
More on Tri-City:  Data

5. Vale

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,210
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $101,100 (3rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.3% (25th worst)
More on Vale:  Data

6. Burns

Burns, OR

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,766
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $89,400 (worst)
Unemployment Rate: 11.3% (19th worst)
More on Burns:  Data | Photos

7. Grand Ronde

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,479
Rank Last Year: 20 (Up 13)
Median Home Value: $210,500 (52nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.7% (2worst)
More on Grand Ronde:  Data

8. La Pine

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,975
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 2)
Median Home Value: $247,800 (68th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 7.3% (52nd worst)
More on La Pine:  Data

9. Irrigon

Irrigon, OR

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,904
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 4)
Median Home Value: $117,800 (9th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.0% (45th worst)
More on Irrigon:  Data | Photos

10. Toledo

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,601
Rank Last Year: 58 (Up 48)
Median Home Value: $228,000 (60th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 13.9% (8th worst)
More on Toledo:  Data

How do you decide if a place is lousy or not?

In order to rank the worst small towns to live in Oregon, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. It isn't a stretch to assume that people like low crime, solid education, things to do and a stable economy.

So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

How we determined the worst small towns to live in Oregon for 2022

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data and the Census's 2016-2020 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there's no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which, there were a lot - 116 to be exact.

Additional note: We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets its crime numbers from the cities themselves. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.

There You Have It - The Worst Small Towns In Oregon

If you're analyzing teeny places in the Beaver State with the worst economic situations, where there's high crime and there's not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Oregon, according to science:

  1. Maywood Park (Pop. 1,224)
  2. North Plains (Pop. 2,706)
  3. Sublimity (Pop. 2,794)

For more Oregon reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Oregon

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Warm Springs 2,702 20.2% $94,600
2 Oakridge 3,336 17.5% $119,200
3 Falls City 1,496 14.6% $167,100
4 Tri-City 4,449 18.4% $175,100
5 Vale 2,210 10.3% $101,100
6 Burns 2,766 11.3% $89,400
7 Grand Ronde 1,479 10.7% $210,500
8 La Pine 2,975 7.3% $247,800
9 Irrigon 1,904 8.0% $117,800
10 Toledo 3,601 13.9% $228,000
11 Bunker Hill 2,244 12.6% $180,200
12 John Day 1,740 9.3% $124,400
13 Nyssa 3,176 4.5% $103,600
14 Cave Junction 2,153 9.5% $180,900
15 Myrtle Point 2,557 7.5% $156,400
16 Rainier 2,080 10.4% $219,700
17 Boardman 3,529 4.2% $141,300
18 Malin 1,057 2.6% $105,700
19 Riddle 1,159 8.8% $110,000
20 Clatskanie 2,189 11.1% $183,300
21 Gold Beach 2,348 8.9% $263,800
22 Rose Lodge 1,316 7.3% $119,500
23 Canyonville 1,812 12.2% $139,400
24 Stanfield 2,521 8.9% $128,300
25 Reedsport 4,085 3.4% $118,500
26 Lakeview 2,559 9.8% $118,100
27 Lakeside 1,621 5.0% $197,700
28 Yoncalla 1,166 12.2% $133,000
29 Coquille 3,925 13.1% $159,900
30 Willamina 2,425 10.7% $191,000
31 Harrisburg 3,852 8.1% $189,300
32 Union 1,841 3.1% $150,900
33 Waldport 1,959 8.1% $217,900
34 Rockaway Beach 1,366 6.1% $232,200
35 Glide 1,287 6.9% $267,600
36 Myrtle Creek 3,447 3.7% $172,900
37 Merlin 1,792 12.6% $329,200
38 Chenoweth 1,703 8.8% $174,500
39 Terrebonne 1,623 21.3% $237,600
40 Mill City 1,885 12.5% $206,900
41 Donald 1,465 9.0% $181,600
42 Gold Hill 1,199 10.2% $227,000
43 Siletz 1,166 10.2% $127,400
44 Wood Village 4,069 3.7% $188,100
45 Enterprise 2,181 9.7% $192,400
46 Harbor 2,071 8.7% $202,000
47 Heppner 1,290 1.2% $111,900
48 New Hope 1,236 14.1% $294,900
49 Shady Cove 3,090 5.7% $184,400
50 Jefferson 3,348 10.7% $216,500
51 Tangent 1,394 8.8% $266,200
52 Elgin 1,542 2.3% $137,800
53 Mulino 2,178 17.4% $477,900
54 Roseburg North 4,328 9.1% $172,700
55 Barview 1,704 7.7% $159,000
56 Oakland 1,071 13.8% $207,400
57 Williams 1,379 5.5% $332,600
58 Vernonia 2,158 8.4% $209,500
59 Athena 1,263 11.7% $137,400
60 Trail 1,029 0.8% $1,000
61 Odell 2,553 7.7% $256,800
62 Gervais 2,726 4.6% $230,300
63 Pilot Rock 1,293 4.9% $116,000
64 Rogue River 1,770 4.0% $169,900
65 Bandon 3,122 2.0% $316,300
66 Culver 2,019 5.0% $189,400
67 Lyons 1,182 11.7% $263,400
68 Bay City 2,190 2.8% $268,600
69 Amity 1,557 3.6% $218,700
70 Mount Angel 3,575 4.7% $257,000
71 Redwood 2,860 7.3% $282,300
72 Halsey 1,139 6.2% $207,700
73 Phoenix 4,624 4.3% $207,300
74 Lincoln Beach 2,186 7.9% $299,200
75 Hines 1,586 11.5% $126,900
76 Scio 1,012 6.9% $237,500
77 Cascade Locks 1,509 5.0% $280,800
78 Dayton 2,726 4.8% $218,900
79 Island City 1,108 0.0% $197,300
80 Coburg 1,384 7.3% $348,900
81 Lowell 1,027 2.3% $195,200
82 Hubbard 3,527 3.0% $284,400
83 Estacada 3,642 3.3% $343,200
84 Joseph 1,092 3.3% $218,500
85 Aumsville 4,145 7.6% $230,900
86 Depoe Bay 1,686 7.3% $269,200
87 Brownsville 2,139 2.5% $243,000
88 Three Rivers 3,368 8.7% $337,900
89 Pacific City 1,234 0.0% $396,100
90 King City 4,345 5.1% $283,100
91 Lafayette 4,222 1.1% $260,700
92 Ruch 1,209 1.8% $412,200
93 Cannon Beach 1,554 0.5% $615,600
94 Dunes City 1,208 1.1% $376,100
95 Sisters 2,709 4.3% $414,000
96 Sunriver 1,183 0.0% $542,600
97 Warren 1,876 5.7% $398,800
98 Eagle Crest 2,857 1.3% $476,600
99 Carlton 2,135 7.8% $300,000
100 Gearhart 1,881 4.3% $382,500

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