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%

Cottage Grove$2,420/mo

Typical home $400K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.98% · or rent about $1,254/mo · Housing →

Pendleton$1,830/mo

Typical home $302K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.00% · or rent about $956/mo · Housing →

The difference: $590 a month, about $7,000 a year, between Cottage Grove and Pendleton.

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.

Report cards

Cottage Grove places higher on 11 of 23 OR lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Oregon ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

CCottage GroveSafer than 34% of U.S. towns DPendletonSafer than 13% of U.S. towns

Schools

C−Cottage GroveBetter than 20% of districts in the state B−PendletonBetter than 48% of districts in the state

Health

B−Cottage GroveHealthier than 49% of U.S. towns B−PendletonHealthier than 52% of U.S. towns

11Cottage Grove

10Pendleton

Lists won, of 23 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most trailsOutdoors · 108 towns #21#106 Most walkableOutdoors · 147 towns #51#125 Lowest depressionHealth · 147 towns #78#6 Most conserved landOutdoors · 141 towns #53#117 SafestSafety · 73 towns #37#63 Fastest growingGrowth · 140 towns #70#117 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 65 towns #5#24 Cheapest rentCost of living · 145 towns #52#10

Left end = #1 in Oregon. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Cottage Grove’s rankings →

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

Cottage GrovePendleton

Snow a year3″16″

January low33°F 28°F

July high82°F 89°F

Growing season (days)183d 174d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)83rd 55th

Outdoors & history

Cottage GrovePendleton

Trails7 mi 3 mi

Conserved land6.5%1.2%

Settled1887 1851

National Register places8 17

Archive photos6 —

Famous people born here6 —

Community

Cottage GrovePendleton

Library hours a week44 hrs 48 hrs

Colleges in town—1

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

245 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Cottage GroveOR PendletonOR

Cottage Grove ↔ Pendleton245 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

Cottage GrovePendleton

People

Population 10,698Lowest 16,950Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +9.2%Highest OR: +10.6% +3%Lowest OR: +10.6%

Median age 38.9±3.4Highest 4% below OR 36.9±2.7Lowest 9% below OR

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

Kids under 18 22.1%±3.5Lowest OR: 19.9% 24.4%±2.8Highest OR: 19.9%

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

Age 65+ 17%±2.8Lowest OR: 19.1% 17.8%±2.4Highest OR: 19.1%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 21.1%Lowest OR: 36.8% 24.7%Highest OR: 36.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.7%±1.8Lowest OR: 5.7% 5.5%±1.5Highest OR: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $80,875±$12kHighest about the OR average $66,563±$7kLowest 20% below OR

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $346,600±$11kHighest 27% below OR $287,100±$16kLowest 40% below OR

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,254±$227Highest 18% below OR $956±$51Lowest 37% below OR

Property taxmedian, yearly $3,381Highest 13% below OR $2,871Lowest 26% below OR

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 41.7%±11.5Lowest OR: 52.5% 50.4%±8.6Highest OR: 52.5%

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

Below poverty line 10.7%Lowest OR: 11.9% 15%Highest OR: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 59%Highest OR: 63.3% 56.5%Lowest OR: 63.3%

Typical home builtmedian year 1977Highest 4 yrs older than OR 1963Lowest 18 yrs older than OR

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 20 minHighest 11% below OR 14 minLowest 38% below OR

Work from home 9.7%±3.4Highest OR: 19% 7.9%±2.4Lowest OR: 19%

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

Work in townworking residents 18%Lowest 46.9%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 18.8 miHighest 4.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.73Lowest 1.04Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Eugene (27%)Mission (12%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in PendletonFew work in Cottage Grove

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 6.5%Highest 1.2%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 7.4 miHighest 3.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.9 miHighest 0.3 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 9Lowest 18Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 106Highest 56.3Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #42 of 121 in OR #35 of 121 in OR

School district South Lane SD 45J3Pendleton SD 16

High school in town Cottage Grove High SchoolPendleton High School

Students per teacherat that high school 19.4Lowest 19.7Highest

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.

Cottage Grove neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cottage Grove’s Town Square.

Pendleton neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Pendleton’s Town Square.

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Towns like Cottage Grove

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The Dalles15,917 people · $361K homes

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.

Cottage Grove vs Pendleton

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $590 more a month in Cottage Grove

Cottage Grove places higher on 11 of 23 OR lists

What daily life feels like in each

245 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Cottage Grove and Pendleton

Towns like Cottage Grove

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