These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In Oregon


We used data and science to identify which places in Oregon are total snoozefests.

Nick Johnson, About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: January 27, 2016
This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out.

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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 OR are so lucky.

Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within Oregon’s borders. You know the places: the ones 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 Damascus, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of Oregon. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Damascus. 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:

  1. Damascus
  2. Union
  3. Shady Cove
  4. Oakridge
  5. Jacksonville
  6. Gold Beach
  7. Brookings
  8. Burns
  9. Columbia City
  10. Lakeview

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.

By the way, where are the most exciting places in Oregon? They are Monmouth, Corvallis, Eugene, Portland and Beaverton in that order. That makes sense.

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How we determined the boring cities in the Beaver State

To figure out how boring a place is, we rely on a complex algorithm that factors 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. Census data to gather the information. Here are some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring:

  • % of Population Over 35 (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)
  • % of Households with People Over 65 (higher is more boring)
  • Population density (lower is more boring)

Then, our algorithm generates several lists of the cities that have plenty of residents with high rankings in all of these categories. After a crunching of the numbers, a list of all of the cities magically appears listing them from most boring to most exciting.

For this list, we used every Oregon city that qualified for our rankings based on having a population of at least 2,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.

Grab your rocker and hold on.

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1. Damascus

Boring Oregon

Source: wikipedia

Population: 10,626
Average Age: 46.0
Married Households: 67.4%
Households With Kids: 33.8%

2. Union

Boring Oregon

Source: Public Domain

Population: 2,059
Average Age: 40.3
Married Households: 60.0%
Households With Kids: 33.5%

3. Shady Cove

Boring Oregon

Source: wikipedia

Population: 2,910
Average Age: 51.8
Married Households: 63.9%
Households With Kids: 19.8%

4. Oakridge

Boring Oregon

Source: wikipedia

Population: 3,210
Average Age: 55.9
Married Households: 59.4%
Households With Kids: 20.0%

5. Jacksonville

Boring Oregon

Source: wikipedia

Population: 2,795
Average Age: 60.2
Married Households: 54.3%
Households With Kids: 16.7%

6. Gold Beach

Boring Oregon

Source: wikipedia

Population: 2,433
Average Age: 49.1
Married Households: 51.2%
Households With Kids: 17.7%

7. Brookings

Boring Oregon

Source: wikipedia

Population: 6,334
Average Age: 50.5
Married Households: 54.0%
Households With Kids: 18.7%

8. Burns

Boring Oregon

Source: wikipedia

Population: 2,774
Average Age: 45.6
Married Households: 52.5%
Households With Kids: 29.9%

9. Columbia City

Boring Oregon

Source: wikipedia

Population: 2,276
Average Age: 42.1
Married Households: 63.1%
Households With Kids: 31.8%

10. Lakeview

Boring Oregon

Source: wikipedia

Population: 2,644
Average Age: 41.6
Married Households: 57.4%
Households With Kids: 29.1%

Now That You’re Asleep

On a list 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 list can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.

Just not these places.

Detailed List Of Boring To Exciting Cities In Oregon

City Rank Population Average Age Married Households Households With Kids
Damascus 1 10,626 46.0 67.4% 33.8%
Union 2 2,059 40.3 60.0% 33.5%
Shady Cove 3 2,910 51.8 63.9% 19.8%
Oakridge 4 3,210 55.9 59.4% 20.0%
Jacksonville 5 2,795 60.2 54.3% 16.7%
Gold Beach 6 2,433 49.1 51.2% 17.7%
Brookings 7 6,334 50.5 54.0% 18.7%
Burns 8 2,774 45.6 52.5% 29.9%
Columbia City 9 2,276 42.1 63.1% 31.8%
Lakeview 10 2,644 41.6 57.4% 29.1%
Vernonia 11 2,110 41.4 56.5% 32.2%
Canyonville 12 2,175 40.8 55.4% 32.2%
Bandon 13 3,058 57.2 47.7% 11.5%
Sutherlin 14 7,766 41.2 51.2% 32.4%
Reedsport 15 4,130 47.3 51.0% 25.5%
Florence 16 8,463 58.9 48.1% 11.1%
Happy Valley 17 14,931 37.1 69.2% 52.9%
Dundee 18 3,161 39.4 59.3% 34.6%
Mount Angel 19 3,364 38.8 55.4% 39.5%
Baker City 20 9,774 42.4 50.2% 28.2%
Newport 21 10,013 41.6 48.6% 27.2%
Coquille 22 3,851 45.2 48.5% 24.0%
West Linn 23 25,462 43.9 63.7% 36.2%
Lake Oswego 24 37,037 45.1 59.7% 29.5%
Rogue River 25 2,114 44.7 46.7% 31.8%
Nyssa 26 3,231 33.7 62.1% 42.3%
Sublimity 27 2,711 49.8 50.3% 25.0%
Prineville 28 9,241 39.3 47.8% 30.9%
Myrtle Point 29 2,454 47.8 45.3% 30.2%
Enterprise 30 2,019 50.5 43.5% 20.5%
Sweet Home 31 9,000 37.1 53.6% 32.2%
Turner 32 2,279 34.5 61.2% 39.8%
North Plains 33 2,056 37.5 54.1% 42.7%
North Bend 34 9,623 42.9 49.9% 28.9%
Scappoose 35 6,716 37.7 53.1% 37.3%
Astoria 36 9,518 40.3 49.2% 28.1%
Winston 37 5,359 34.5 57.2% 38.5%
Seaside 38 6,455 43.6 47.6% 25.1%
Harrisburg 39 3,598 37.3 57.3% 41.3%
Junction City 40 5,505 36.8 52.4% 41.7%
Phoenix 41 4,563 50.9 48.8% 19.4%
Stayton 42 7,690 37.1 55.0% 36.4%
The Dalles 43 14,730 39.9 51.2% 30.2%
Sisters 44 2,262 37.9 51.2% 32.2%
Roseburg 45 21,746 45.3 44.9% 22.3%
Estacada 46 2,803 36.7 47.4% 35.2%
Pendleton 47 16,801 39.2 47.7% 31.3%
Coos Bay 48 15,982 40.1 45.2% 25.5%
Silverton 49 9,263 35.4 51.9% 36.2%
Toledo 50 3,465 36.0 53.2% 37.9%
Central Point 51 17,271 37.3 57.8% 36.4%
Dallas 52 14,689 37.2 52.2% 32.9%
Lincoln City 53 7,968 42.4 43.5% 26.7%
Stanfield 54 2,001 37.3 48.7% 29.3%
Myrtle Creek 55 3,433 40.0 37.7% 28.8%
Bend 56 78,128 37.8 52.3% 31.6%
Veneta 57 4,580 34.8 45.3% 41.9%
Redmond 58 26,583 34.5 49.8% 35.7%
Eagle Point 59 8,520 34.1 52.6% 40.9%
King City 60 3,238 67.6 40.6% 7.4%
Cottage Grove 61 9,734 37.1 45.0% 32.9%
Carlton 62 2,117 32.3 58.5% 52.7%
Creswell 63 5,024 34.0 58.6% 40.8%
Canby 64 16,561 34.9 57.8% 39.6%
Boardman 65 3,271 26.0 53.0% 54.9%
Sandy 66 9,737 33.8 60.4% 40.3%
Lafayette 67 3,733 33.9 64.1% 47.8%
Warrenton 68 5,057 32.3 47.8% 39.8%
Gladstone 69 11,602 39.4 46.1% 33.9%
Medford 70 75,902 37.8 47.6% 32.1%
Philomath 71 4,581 34.6 56.5% 36.4%
Wilsonville 72 19,636 36.4 50.6% 30.7%
Dayton 73 2,536 33.8 56.7% 38.4%
Grants Pass 74 34,672 39.1 43.6% 29.1%
McMinnville 75 32,536 34.7 49.2% 35.5%
Ashland 76 20,355 43.9 38.8% 22.7%
Sheridan 77 6,074 37.7 41.5% 47.1%
Sherwood 78 18,441 33.9 64.9% 48.0%
Albany 79 50,828 35.2 50.1% 35.1%
Keizer 80 36,681 35.2 53.1% 36.8%
Irrigon 81 2,081 30.6 46.1% 49.9%
Klamath Falls 82 21,026 35.6 43.9% 31.5%
Tigard 83 49,024 37.7 51.7% 32.0%
Oregon City 84 33,115 36.7 49.8% 39.3%
Troutdale 85 16,188 33.9 52.5% 39.1%
Jefferson 86 3,122 31.8 54.5% 49.5%
Hermiston 87 16,866 29.7 50.4% 43.0%
Woodburn 88 24,101 31.4 49.9% 40.1%
Tualatin 89 26,383 35.1 52.8% 34.5%
St. Helens 90 12,985 33.7 51.6% 39.6%
Fairview 91 9,003 36.3 46.2% 32.2%
Lebanon 92 15,641 34.9 44.1% 31.9%
Talent 93 6,123 38.8 45.8% 30.6%
Ontario 94 11,227 32.2 41.8% 34.1%
Tillamook 95 4,949 35.5 46.5% 30.9%
Forest Grove 96 21,593 34.6 47.0% 36.1%
Cornelius 97 11,991 30.2 57.3% 52.9%
Salem 98 156,937 35.0 46.2% 34.0%
Milwaukie 99 20,385 39.9 43.7% 25.8%
La Grande 100 13,114 36.0 45.4% 28.4%
Hubbard 101 3,178 31.4 56.1% 50.1%
Molalla 102 8,152 33.2 49.8% 40.4%
Umatilla 103 6,927 31.0 31.1% 51.1%
Madras 104 6,263 32.0 38.1% 39.6%
Aumsville 105 3,674 30.9 48.1% 53.5%
Newberg 106 22,291 32.3 48.9% 35.9%
Milton-Freewater 107 7,066 30.0 41.0% 42.0%
Hillsboro 108 93,880 32.2 50.4% 40.0%
Hood River 109 7,214 34.4 46.6% 29.2%
Independence 110 8,608 26.2 49.7% 46.8%
Gervais 111 2,505 27.1 52.0% 61.1%
Gresham 112 107,196 34.2 45.6% 37.4%
Wood Village 113 3,899 28.8 48.2% 49.4%
Springfield 114 59,692 34.7 42.1% 32.8%
Beaverton 115 91,383 35.2 47.6% 30.5%
Portland 116 594,687 36.3 40.7% 25.0%
Eugene 117 157,318 34.2 38.9% 24.3%
Corvallis 118 54,691 26.3 33.7% 20.8%
Monmouth 119 9,687 23.5 30.8% 24.8%
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

 Boring