Oregon’s Best (and Worst) Small Cities to Live In, According to Experts at WalletHub

Not everyone’s fit for the big city. Small cities are just as preferable for those who want to live a steady life without too much drama. Choosing a dream home is important, though, so it’s good to know what the best options you have are, as well as which ones to stay far away from.

Experts at WalletHub have been doing the work and telling us just what the best and worst small cities in Oregon are. They’ve taken a look at some of the big key indicators of livability, such as housing costs, school-system quality, economic health, safety, etc., to bring to us their opinion on where to flock to and where to stay far away from.

So, coming out of 1,321 small US cities, where do Oregon cities place?

Well, you’re going to find Bend, Oregon, up there in the 98th percentile of small cities, representing the Beaver State well. It placed well within the top 300 when it came to quality of life, economic health, and safety, but dropped off greatly when it came to affordability.

Finding themselves hovering around the 87th percentile are the cities of West Linn, Lake Oswego, Beaverton, Tigard and Oregon City. Not the best, but certainly not terrible, and they’re making Oregon proud.

Now, if you’re looking for some underperforming cities, you’re going to want to look no further than Woodburn, which found itself at the 12th percentile, all the way down at No. 1093 due to its very poor scores in the education and health categories. Following Woodburn are the cities Grants Pass, Keizer, Aloha, and Springfield.

If you’re curious, WalletHub deemed Milton, Massachusetts as the best small city to live in, and deemed Florence, South Carolina as the worst.