A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Adams$1,400/mo

Typical home $225K (Census) · tax rate 1.16% · Housing →

Waterloo$1,710/mo

Typical home $294K (Census) · tax rate 0.70% · or rent about $1,167/mo · Housing →

The difference: $320 a month, about $3,800 a year, between Waterloo and Adams.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

AdamsWaterloo

Snow a year15″0″

January low27°F —

July high90°F —

Growing season (days)135d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)54th 52nd

Outdoors & history

AdamsWaterloo

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land0%3%

Settled1893 1893

National Register places2 —

Archive photos7 —

Community

AdamsWaterloo

Library hours a week24 hrs —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

225 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

AdamsOR WaterlooOR

Adams ↔ Waterloo225 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Oregon average

AdamsWaterloo

People

Population 292Highest 229Lowest

Median age 49.9±15.6Highest 24% above OR 49.5±10.4Lowest 23% above OR

Adams and Waterloo are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 1%±11.8Lowest OR: 19.9% 5.7%±8.6Highest OR: 19.9%

Waterloo and Adams are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 31.5%±3.1Highest OR: 19.1% 26.6%±16.5Lowest OR: 19.1%

Adams and Waterloo are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 21.5%Highest OR: 36.8% 11%Lowest OR: 36.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0%±6.3Lowest OR: 5.7% 1.7%±6.2Highest OR: 5.7%

Waterloo and Adams are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $57,212±$13kLowest 31% below OR $88,750±$26kHighest 7% above OR

Waterloo and Adams are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $225,000±$53kLowest 53% below OR $293,800±$128kHighest 38% below OR

Waterloo and Adams are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly — $1,167±$567 23% below OR

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,603Highest 33% below OR $2,068Lowest 47% below OR

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 0%±100Lowest OR: 52.5% 50%±100Highest OR: 52.5%

Waterloo and Adams are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 2.1%Lowest OR: 11.9% 3.5%Highest OR: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 91.6%Lowest OR: 63.3% 95.5%Highest OR: 63.3%

Typical home builtmedian year 1976Highest 5 yrs older than OR 1971Lowest 10 yrs older than OR

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 25 minLowest 10% above OR 34 minHighest 48% above OR

Work from home 12.1%±10.3Lowest OR: 19% 19.8%±14.4Highest OR: 19%

Waterloo and Adams are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0.7%Highest 0%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 15.3 miLowest 21.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.12Lowest 0.14Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Pendleton (21%)Lebanon (15%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WaterlooFew work in Adams

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0%Lowest 3%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 135Lowest 226Highest

Oregon average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Adams neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Adams’s Town Square.

Waterloo neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Waterloo’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Adams and Waterloo

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Adams

+ Compare

Dayville206 people · $220K homes

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Adrian299 people · $158K homes

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Prairie City615 people · $206K homes

+ Compare

Sodaville309 people · $347K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Oregon towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Adams vs Waterloo

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $320 more a month in Waterloo

What daily life feels like in each

225 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Adams and Waterloo

Towns like Adams

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