The 10 Dumbest Places In Oregon For 2026

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Beaver State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.

While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.

We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Oregon have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.

A recent study we published found that Oregon is the 22nd smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 100.

But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Oregon are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.

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

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The 10 Dumbest Places In Oregon

1. Milton-Freewater
2. Woodburn
3. Sweet Home
4. Umatilla
5. Ontario
6. Sheridan
7. Hermiston
8. Cornelius
9. Tillamook
10. Prineville

Don’t freak out.

Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.

For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 5,000, leaving us 75 cities in Oregon to rank. You can take a look at the data below.

For more Oregon reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In Oregon
• Safest Places To Live In Oregon

The 10 Dumbest Places In Oregon For 2026

1. Milton-Freewater

Source: Wikipedia User Bobjgalindo | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,036
% Adult High School Dropout: 26.0%
% Highly Educated: 8.0%
More on Milton-Freewater: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

2. Woodburn

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 27,875
% Adult High School Dropout: 31.0%
% Highly Educated: 15.0%
More on Woodburn: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

3. Sweet Home

Source: Wikipedia User Sword Fern | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 10,078
% Adult High School Dropout: 16.0%
% Highly Educated: 12.0%
More on Sweet Home: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

4. Umatilla

Source: Wikipedia User Tedder | CC BY 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,508
% Adult High School Dropout: 18.0%
% Highly Educated: 13.0%
More on Umatilla: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

5. Ontario

Source: Flickr User Dougtone | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 11,842
% Adult High School Dropout: 19.0%
% Highly Educated: 15.0%
More on Ontario: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

6. Sheridan

Source: Wikipedia User M.O. Stevens | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,339
% Adult High School Dropout: 15.0%
% Highly Educated: 13.0%
More on Sheridan: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

7. Hermiston

Source: Wikipedia User Williamborg | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 19,546
% Adult High School Dropout: 25.0%
% Highly Educated: 17.0%
More on Hermiston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

8. Cornelius

Source: Wikipedia User M.O. Stevens | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 14,255
% Adult High School Dropout: 23.0%
% Highly Educated: 18.0%
More on Cornelius: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

9. Tillamook

Source: Wikipedia User Meronim | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,218
% Adult High School Dropout: 14.0%
% Highly Educated: 15.0%
More on Tillamook: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

10. Prineville

Source: Wikipedia User Cacophony | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 11,470
% Adult High School Dropout: 15.0%
% Highly Educated: 16.0%
More on Prineville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Beaver State

We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.

So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.

In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Oregon:

• % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
• % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)

We got the data from the U.S. Census 2020-2024 American Community Survey.

Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Oregon from dumbest to brightest.

For this ranking, we used every Oregon city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the dumbest cities in Oregon.

There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep

If you’re measuring the locations in Oregon where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.

The dumbest cities in Oregon are Milton-Freewater, Woodburn, Sweet Home, Umatilla, Ontario, Sheridan, Hermiston, Cornelius, Tillamook, and Prineville.

If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in Oregon, according to science:

1. Lake Oswego
2. West Linn
3. Ashland

For more Oregon reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In Oregon
• Cheapest Places To Live In Oregon
• Most Dangerous Cities In Oregon
• Richest Cities In Oregon
• Safest Places In Oregon
• Worst Places To Live In Oregon
• Most Expensive Places To Live In Oregon

Dumbest Cities In Oregon For 2026