Ask any Oregonian; Oregon is a wonderful place to live. However, making the choice of where to live can be difficult. To put together this list, we sifted through many articles and statistics about the best places to live in Oregon based on specific attractions and overall livability. Of course, rating livability is always going to be subjective to an extent, and what makes a place “the best” is reliant on individual experiences. When it comes down to it, pretty much anywhere you end up in Oregon is going to be amazing. However, if you’re looking to make a move and you’re not sure where to start, here are 11 amazing places you could hang your hat, broken down into categories.

Safest city: Brookings
Brookings, OR 97415, USA
Tomas Bozack/Flickr
Brookings, a coastal town near the California border, is home to 6,313 residents and has the lowest crime rate in the state. Plus, it's beautiful! See why this town deserves a visit during the holidays when it comes alive with holiday lights.
Best place to retire: Ashland
Ashland, OR 97520, USA
Al Case/Flickr
Ashland is home to the wonderful Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and it's also a fantastic place to retire. This lovely city has mild weather, access to great outdoor activities, a charming downtown, and it's very pedestrian friendly, making it a popular place to retire.
Best city for outdoorsy folks: Bend
Bend, OR, USA
Gordon/Flickr
Bend is surrounded by all kinds of incredible nature and outdoor activities abound! Especially this hidden waterfall trail along the Deschutes River.
Best place to raise a family: West Linn
West Linn, OR, USA
David Burn/Flickr
This suburb of Portland has a population of slightly over 25,000 residents. Although the cost of living is higher than in some cities in Oregon, the crime rate is very low and the education, amenities, and housing make this a wonderful city to raise a family.
Best place to find a job: Corvallis
Corvallis, OR, USA
Tom Brandt/Flickr
Corvallis is home to Oregon State University and businesses like Hewlett-Packard, and at 3.5% unemployment, it has the lowest unemployment rate in the state.

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Most affordable: Springfield
Springfield, OR, USA
Bruce Fingerhood/Flickr
Movoto ranked Springfield as the city with the lowest cost of living in Oregon. It also has its own reindeer farm, so that's pretty special too.
Most livable coastal town: Florence
Florence, OR 97439, USA
Stephanie Sarles/Flickr
It's hard to choose between Oregon's many wonderful seaside towns, but when it comes to livability, Florence came in first place. The lovely town has a high graduation rate, a stable housing market, a low crime rate, relatively sunny weather, and more.
Best place for food lovers: McMinnville
McMinnville, OR 97128, USA
Andy Nystrom/Flickr
Although you could argue that Portland has the most variety of food and the most nationally recognized restaurants, Mcminnville takes the cake on this one. McMinnville is located in the Willamette Valley and is surrounded by farms and vineyards that make their farm-to-fork food culture possible (and delicious!). Bon Appétit even named McMinnville one of the six "foodiest towns" in the country.
Best schools: Lake Oswego
Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Rupak Anto/Flickr/
The lovely Lake Oswego has the best schools in the state. It's also one of the safest places to live in Oregon.
Best city for the arts: Portland
Portland, OR, USA
Thomas Hawk/Flickr
Portland is a wonderful city full of art and creativity. For art and music lovers, Portland is the place to be. It's not too shabby in the beautiful scenic views area either.
Best small town: Silverton
Silverton, OR 97381, USA
Edmund Garman/Flickr
Oregon is full of incredible small towns, so this one was a particularly hard choice. With less than 10,000 residents, Silverton is a beautiful little town with a median housing value of 6% lower than the state's average, a higher median household income, a high graduation rate, and low crime rates, making it one of the best towns in Oregon.

Overall, Oregon is an amazing place to live with friendly people, beautiful scenic views, and lots of interesting activities to keep you entertained. Living in Oregon definitely has its benefits.

Do you live in any of these places? Have you ever? Everyone has their own idea of what makes somewhere the best place to live, and honestly, it’s hard to go wrong in a state as lovely as Oregon. What do you think the best places to live in Oregon are? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

 

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More to Explore

Most beautiful places in Oregon to live

Chris Muras | December 22, 2022

What is the prettiest place to live in Oregon?

The prettiest place in Oregon has got to be the sunny beaches, or maybe it's the awe-inspiring forests, or maybe it's the Willamette Valley wine country, or the Blue Mountains - okay we give up. But we can tell you about some of the prettiest places to live based on some really cool small towns in Oregon. Here is a list of some of the most charming small towns:

  1. Shaniko
  2. Coburg
  3. Cannon Beach
  4. Cottage Grove
  5. Depoe Bay
  6. Fossil
  7. Jacksonville
  8. Wallowa
  9. Yachats
  10. Newport

If you'd like to find out why these are some of the prettiest places to live in Oregon, read why here.

What is the nicest city in Oregon?

Picking the nicest city in Oregon is like choosing what flavor of jelly bean is the best, we all have our favorite. But there are some small towns in Oregon that truly deserve a mention. Let's take a look at some of the cities that have the best weather in the state, perhaps you cause that to determine the nicest city in Oregon.

  • New Pine Creek
  • Lakeview
  • Bonanza
  • Merrill
  • Hines
  • Chiloquin
  • Crane
  • Klamath Falls

Give this article a read to find out why these cities top the list of Oregon cities with the nicest weather.

What part of Oregon has the nicest weather?

Oregon is a state with dramatic weather changes across its diverse landscapes, ranging from hot and dry eastern plains to the chill and wet western coast. When it comes to nice weather though, the Portland metropolitan area is where locals and visitors alike can experience consistent temperatures coupled with low humidity all year round. On average, temperatures range from the 30s in winter to the mid-70s during summertime months. With plenty of sunny days mixed in, this makes Portland one of the most temperate places in Oregon – perfect for outdoor activities like camping, bike riding, or taking a walk along some of the city’s lush green trails!

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