The 10 Most Boring Places In Oregon For 2023


The most boring places in Oregon are Prineville and Veneta for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in Oregon that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.

Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in Beaver State are so lucky.

Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within Oregon’s’ borders. You know the places where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.

Like Prineville, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of Oklahoma according to Saturday Night Science. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Prineville. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in Oregon as well.

Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement.

Don’t freak out, in fact, believe it not, a boring city is actually one a lot of people would like to call home.

Before you get all upset if your city’s name is on the list, rest assured that we didn’t use personal opinion when it comes to what classifies a city or town as “boring” or “exciting”. We crunched actual numbers to figure out which towns are statistically more boring.

Showing this data to you is the kind of thing that a real estate agent knows, but would never share.

For more Oregon reading, check out:


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


The 10 Most Boring Places In Oregon For 2023

Prineville, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Cacophony | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 10,915
Average Age: 40.7
% Married: 28.0%
More on Prineville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Veneta, OR

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10
Population: 5,177
Average Age: 45.3
% Married: 17.0%
More on Veneta: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Sweet Home, OR

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

5
/10
Population: 9,852
Average Age: 41.3
% Married: 20.0%
More on Sweet Home: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Sutherlin, OR

Source: Wikipedia User publichall at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population: 8,513
Average Age: 46.9
% Married: 19.0%
More on Sutherlin: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Creswell, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Visitor7 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population: 5,607
Average Age: 36.9
% Married: 34.0%
More on Creswell: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

North Bend, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Brian Burger (“WireLizard”) | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population: 10,250
Average Age: 48.9
% Married: 19.0%
More on North Bend: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Stayton, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Walter Siegmund (talk) | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10
Population: 8,210
Average Age: 38.4
% Married: 32.0%
More on Stayton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Scappoose, OR

Source: Wikipedia User MB298 | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10
Population: 8,003
Average Age: 38.7
% Married: 29.0%
More on Scappoose: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Happy Valley, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Esprqii | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population: 24,381
Average Age: 39.7
% Married: 19.0%
More on Happy Valley: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Pendleton, OR

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10
Population: 17,005
Average Age: 37.4
% Married: 19.0%
More on Pendleton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

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

You would present the following case to your friends if you were argueing with them at a bar about the most boring place to live in Oregon. And that’s why we call it Saturday Night Science.

Because our data speaks more truth than feelings.

To figure out how boring a place is, we factored in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people.

We used the U.S. American Community Census data to gather the information presented here. HSome of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring include:

  • % of Population Over 25 (higher is more boring)
  • % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
  • Average Age (higher is more boring)
  • % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
  • Population density (lower is more boring)

Then, our algorithm generates a ranking for each place in these categories. After crunching the numbers, all of the cities ranked from most boring to most exciting.

For this ranking, we used every Oregon city with at least 5,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.

Grab your rocker and hold on.

We updated this article for 2023, and it’s our tenth time ranking the most boring cities in Oregon.

There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep

On a ranking like this, there are usually no winners, but since Oregon isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this ranking can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.

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

  1. Corvallis
  2. Eugene
  3. Monmouth

For more Oregon reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Most Boring Cities In Oregon For 2023

Rank City Population Average Age % Married % Kids
1 Prineville, OR 10,915 40.7 28.0% 29.6%
2 Veneta, OR 5,177 45.3 17.0% 33.7%
3 Sweet Home, OR 9,852 41.3 20.0% 32.5%
4 Sutherlin, OR 8,513 46.9 19.0% 22.5%
5 Creswell, OR 5,607 36.9 34.0% 45.6%
6 North Bend, OR 10,250 48.9 19.0% 27.6%
7 Stayton, OR 8,210 38.4 32.0% 40.4%
8 Scappoose, OR 8,003 38.7 29.0% 34.1%
9 Happy Valley, OR 24,381 39.7 19.0% 41.4%
10 Pendleton, OR 17,005 37.4 19.0% 37.3%
11 Astoria, OR 10,184 42.0 17.0% 21.7%
12 Brookings, OR 6,719 54.5 12.0% 23.6%
13 Winston, OR 5,618 43.5 17.0% 30.5%
14 Canby, OR 18,127 41.1 25.0% 33.0%
15 Seaside, OR 7,142 47.9 15.0% 15.1%
16 Eagle Point, OR 9,735 36.7 23.0% 45.7%
17 Coos Bay, OR 15,949 42.8 16.0% 20.8%
18 Central Point, OR 19,123 40.3 22.0% 33.5%
19 Newport, OR 10,319 47.9 11.0% 20.0%
20 Lake Oswego, OR 40,457 45.8 15.0% 31.8%
21 Redmond, OR 34,191 36.4 22.0% 30.9%
22 Silverton, OR 10,439 38.2 19.0% 36.1%
23 Florence, OR 9,384 57.7 9.0% 15.3%
24 West Linn, OR 27,167 44.2 15.0% 36.3%
25 St. Helens, OR 14,015 36.3 21.0% 37.7%
26 Roseburg, OR 23,657 40.3 14.0% 29.5%
27 Gladstone, OR 11,996 43.6 22.0% 23.0%
28 Dallas, OR 16,945 41.2 22.0% 28.4%
29 Sandy, OR 12,592 34.5 27.0% 44.0%
30 Umatilla, OR 7,433 35.5 10.0% 41.0%
31 Milwaukie, OR 21,195 40.2 20.0% 26.6%
32 Tigard, OR 55,161 38.9 18.0% 30.2%
33 Warrenton, OR 6,254 37.5 14.0% 30.1%
34 Troutdale, OR 16,150 35.4 23.0% 37.6%
35 Wilsonville, OR 25,992 38.3 15.0% 29.2%
36 Philomath, OR 5,429 36.8 22.0% 24.7%
37 Bend, OR 99,442 39.5 12.0% 28.2%
38 Sheridan, OR 6,237 38.9 20.0% 24.4%
39 Grants Pass, OR 39,131 41.0 12.0% 32.7%
40 Cottage Grove, OR 10,583 38.2 18.0% 31.8%
41 The Dalles, OR 15,988 37.4 17.0% 27.2%
42 Lebanon, OR 18,587 37.3 19.0% 24.9%
43 Medford, OR 85,539 38.1 16.0% 30.7%
44 Molalla, OR 10,147 33.6 25.0% 40.6%
45 Hood River, OR 8,292 39.4 9.0% 30.4%
46 Albany, OR 56,348 36.5 20.0% 31.4%
47 Springfield, OR 61,740 37.3 18.0% 32.1%
48 Tualatin, OR 27,804 37.3 16.0% 31.8%
49 Madras, OR 7,494 33.0 13.0% 42.3%
50 Ashland, OR 21,401 48.2 5.0% 16.6%
51 Sherwood, OR 20,286 36.4 19.0% 45.6%
52 Gresham, OR 113,525 37.3 17.0% 32.9%
53 Mcminnville, OR 34,432 40.1 14.0% 29.6%
54 Klamath Falls, OR 21,806 35.1 15.0% 29.6%
55 Hermiston, OR 19,267 31.5 14.0% 42.9%
56 Fairview, OR 10,515 34.5 16.0% 24.6%
57 Tillamook, OR 5,215 37.3 13.0% 31.4%
58 Keizer, OR 39,122 35.8 20.0% 32.7%
59 Salem, OR 175,754 35.9 16.0% 31.1%
60 La Grande, OR 13,097 33.1 23.0% 27.6%
61 Portland, OR 646,101 38.3 10.0% 22.5%
62 Independence, OR 9,981 29.7 18.0% 36.9%
63 Woodburn, OR 26,222 39.2 11.0% 35.2%
64 Forest Grove, OR 26,160 35.4 16.0% 32.8%
65 Hillsboro, OR 106,612 34.5 11.0% 31.6%
66 Cornelius, OR 13,245 37.4 11.0% 35.4%
67 Newberg, OR 25,379 34.2 16.0% 33.5%
68 Ontario, OR 11,610 34.9 12.0% 29.0%
69 Beaverton, OR 97,554 36.7 11.0% 26.8%
70 Milton-Freewater, OR 7,137 33.1 8.0% 45.7%
71 Talent, OR 6,256 37.4 6.0% 23.9%
72 Monmouth, OR 11,054 25.2 13.0% 31.2%
73 Eugene, OR 176,755 35.2 10.0% 22.1%
74 Corvallis, OR 60,050 26.9 7.0% 19.7%
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.

3 thoughts on “The 10 Most Boring Places In Oregon For 2023

  1. I have lived in many cities and have not found any as boring as Roseburg! Many businesses have a four day week including doctors.

  2. I prefer “boring” any day over places full of illegal aliens, protesters, drunk college “kids” and noise. Give me Oakridge any time..or any of the 10 most “boring” you list.

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