Cheapest Places To Live In Oregon For 2021

The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Oregon For 2020

1. Umatilla

Oregon might not be the cheapest state in America, but try telling that to the folks in Umatilla. Homes in Umatilla go for the second lowest prices in the state, and nowhere in Oregon will you pay a smaller percentage of your income on housing.

And you'll get that quintessential Oregon outdoors-goodness at Hat Rock State Park, complete with trails, a pond for fishing, and resident eagles. Sounds like a good deal to me. The median home price in Umatilla is $117,200 and the median income is $41,707. Umatilla is also incredibly affordable for renters; with a median rent of $631/month, the city has the cheapest rent you'll find anywhere on this list.

That doesn't mean that Umatilla has skimped on safety though. In fact, it's the second safest place in Oregon.

Umatilla is located in the northeastern part of Oregon, across the Columbia River from Washington.

The median household income in Umatilla comes in at $41,707 and the median home value is $117,200 for 2020. The unemployment rate sits at 9.4%.

2. Hermiston

A close neighbor of Umatilla, Hermiston ranks as the second least expensive city in Oregon.

Like Umatilla, Hermiston has plenty of outdoor recreation activities to keep you busy on a budget. As far as jobs, the city's main industries are food processing and distribution, so if you've got experience in the field, it should be no sweat locking down a job in Hermiston. Hermiston has strong affordability numbers across the board, but really stands out in terms of inexpensive rent. At a median rent of $737, Hermiston residents pay less than half the average rent in Oregon and the pay the fifth smallest percentage of their income on rent statewide.

The median household income in Hermiston comes in at $51,923 and the median home value is $156,500 for 2020. The unemployment rate sits at 6.0%.

3. Pendleton

Pendleton is yet another Umatilla County city to make the cut as one of the cheapest places to live in Oregon. Buying a home in Pendleton will set you back about $155,100, which on an income of $49,671 is no sweat at all. Pendleton also has the eighth best rent to income ratio in the state, so if you're not ready to commit to a mortgage, Pendleton still has you covered.

Not to mention that if you're a rodeo competitor, you'll alway have a side gig ready for you at the Pendleton Round Up rodeo.

The median household income in Pendleton comes in at $49,671 and the median home value is $155,100 for 2020. The unemployment rate sits at 11.4%.

4. Milton-Freewater

Milton-Freewater is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The city received its current name in 1951 when the neighboring rival cities of Milton and Freewater voted to merge. The population was 7,050 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Pendleton-Hermiston Micropolitan Statistical Area. Milton-Freewater is home to a growing wine industry.

The median household income in Milton-Freewater comes in at $41,354 and the median home value is $118,400 for 2020. The unemployment rate sits at 6.9%.

Baker City ranks as the fifth least expensive city in Oregon, with the fourth cheapest homes on the market statewide. Homes in Baker City go for a median price of $128,700. Combine that with a median income of $42,881, and Baker City has the third best home price to income ratio in Oregon.

And if you always died playing the Oregon Trail computer game as a kid, you can pick up some tips on surviving at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.

The median household income in Baker City comes in at $42,881 and the median home value is $128,700 for 2020. The unemployment rate sits at 9.5%.

6. Dallas

A suburb of Salem, Dallas ranks as the sixth most affordable place in Oregon for 2020. If you're into hiking and/or bird-watching, you'll have no trouble keeping yourself entertained without spending a dime at Baskett Slough Wildlife Refuge. At $205,000, Dallas has the highest median home price on this list. But thanks to residents earning a median income of $56,169, paying off the mortgage in Dallas is easy. Dallas is also a great place to rent, with the third best rent to income ratio in Oregon.

The median household income in Dallas comes in at $56,169 and the median home value is $205,000 for 2020. The unemployment rate sits at 8.2%.

You'll have a hard time believing that you're living in one of the most expensive states in America if you call Creswell home. Homes in Creswell go for the second highest price on this list, with a median price tag of $199,700. However, because Creswell residents earn a median income of $58,279, the city is still safely in the top ten statewide in terms of home price to income ratio. Creswell does have the highest median rent on this list at $923, but it's still quite reasonable for Oregon.

Creswell is located just south of Eugene.

The median household income in Creswell comes in at $58,279 and the median home value is $199,700 for 2020. The unemployment rate sits at 4.9%.

8. North Bend

Located in the southwestern part of the state on Coos Bay, North Bend ranks as the eighth cheapest city in Oregon.

There are few places better for ATVing than North Bend's Oregon Dunes, so definitely give that a go if you have the chance.

North Bend's higher median income of $49,935 helps offset some slightly higher housing prices, with the median home going for $184,700 and a median rent of $798. All in all, it's North Bend is one of the places you'll pay the smallest percentage of your income on housing, regardless if you're renting or buying.

The median household income in North Bend comes in at $49,935 and the median home value is $184,700 for 2020. The unemployment rate sits at 5.7%.

9. Ontario

Oregon might be one of the states with the highest rent in America, but apparently Ontario hasn't gotten the memo. The median rent in Ontario is a measly $666, which is far below the national and statewide average. But that's not really why Ontario is on this list. It's because the city has the cheapest homes in Oregon, with a median price tag of $114,800. Taken with Ontario's median income of $34,940, and the city is safely in the top ten in Oregon for home price to income ratio.

Ontario is located in eastern Oregon, about an hour northwest of Boise, Idaho.

The median household income in Ontario comes in at $34,940 and the median home value is $114,800 for 2020. The unemployment rate sits at 9.2%.

10. Sheridan

Located 30 miles northwest of Salem, Sheridan comes in as the tenth most affordable city in Oregon. Sheridan is the eighth easiest place in Oregon to pay off your mortgage, thanks to residents earning a median income of $48,449 and paying a median home price of $165,900.

And if you've ever dreamed of being a race car driver, you can live out that fantasy every summer at the Sheridan Mud Drags. Just don't show up afraid of getting dirty!

The median household income in Sheridan comes in at $48,449 and the median home value is $165,900 for 2020. The unemployment rate sits at 7.5%.

How We Determined The Most Affordable Places To Live In The Beaver State For 2020

The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:

1. How much do money do I make?
2. How much do I have spend to live there?

You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.

For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.

With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2014-2018 around incomes and costs. They are:

• Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
• Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
• Median Home Price

We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).

You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Oregon to figure out which is the least expensive.

What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.

So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 76 places in Oregon that have more than 5,000 people.

The place with the lowest cost of living in Oregon according to the data is Umatilla. You can download the data here.