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%

Gresham$2,790/mo

Typical home $465K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.91% · or rent about $1,586/mo · Housing →

Medford$2,400/mo

Typical home $408K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.78% · or rent about $1,376/mo · Housing →

The difference: $380 a month, about $4,600 a year, between Gresham and Medford.

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

Medford places higher on 17 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

C−GreshamSafer than 16% of U.S. towns DMedfordSafer than 8% of U.S. towns

Schools

B−GreshamBetter than 45% of districts in the state B−MedfordBetter than 54% of districts in the state

Health

B−GreshamHealthier than 47% of U.S. towns B−MedfordHealthier than 53% of U.S. towns

6Gresham

17Medford

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

Shortest commuteGetting around · 147 towns #110#25 Lowest depressionHealth · 147 towns #136#54 Most new homesHousing · 82 towns #61#24 Best schoolsSchools · 121 towns #96#50 Most conserved landOutdoors · 141 towns #19#70 Fastest growingGrowth · 140 towns #78#40 Lowest property taxCost of living · 147 towns #107#68 Highest graduation rateSchools · 139 towns #114#81

Left end = #1 in Oregon. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Gresham’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

GreshamMedford

Snow a year3″3″

January low37°F 33°F

July high82°F 92°F

Growing season (days)251d 204d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)57th 52nd

Outdoors & history

GreshamMedford

Trails19 mi 26 mi

Conserved land15.8%4.4%

Settled1905 1884

National Register places10 43

Archive photos—12

Community

GreshamMedford

Library hours a week57 hrs 52 hrs

Colleges in town1 1

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 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

220 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

GreshamOR MedfordOR

Gresham ↔ Medford220 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

GreshamMedford

People

Population 112,378Highest 86,315Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +8.2%Lowest OR: +10.6% +14.6%Highest OR: +10.6%

Median age 37±1Lowest 8% below OR 38.9±1.1Highest 4% below OR

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

Kids under 18 22.7%±1.3Lowest OR: 19.9% 22.9%±1.2Highest OR: 19.9%

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

Age 65+ 15.1%±0.9Lowest OR: 19.1% 19.5%±1.1Highest OR: 19.1%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 23.3%Lowest OR: 36.8% 30.1%Highest OR: 36.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.3%±1.1Highest OR: 5.7% 3.8%±0.6Lowest OR: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $77,795±$4kHighest 6% below OR $73,230±$4kLowest 12% below OR

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $458,700±$5kHighest 4% below OR $417,100±$9kLowest 13% below OR

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,586±$37Highest 4% above OR $1,376±$40Lowest 10% below OR

Property taxmedian, yearly $4,174Highest 8% above OR $3,236Lowest 17% below OR

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 59%±4.3Highest OR: 52.5% 57%±4.1Lowest OR: 52.5%

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

Below poverty line 13%Lowest OR: 11.9% 13.2%Highest OR: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 55.8%Lowest OR: 63.3% 56.3%Highest OR: 63.3%

Typical home builtmedian year 1981Lowest same as OR 1984Highest 3 yrs newer than OR

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 26 minHighest 13% above OR 17 minLowest 28% below OR

Work from home 13%±1.5Highest OR: 19% 10.5%±1.6Lowest OR: 19%

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

Work in townworking residents 16.4%Lowest 55.3%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 9.3 miHighest 3.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.75Lowest 1.46Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Portland (41%)Ashland (5%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in MedfordFew work in Gresham

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 15.8%Highest 4.4%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 18.6 miLowest 26.3 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.8 miLowest 0.9 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 47Highest 21Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 107Highest 95.1Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #96 of 121 in OR #50 of 121 in OR

School district Centennial SD 28J · Gresham-Barlow SD 10JMedford SD 549C · Phoenix-Talent SD 4

High school in town Centennial High SchoolSouth Medford High School

Students per teacherat that high school 26.7Highest 23.7Lowest

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.

Gresham neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Living in Gresham

1 neighbor in Gresham can answer.

Medford neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Medford’s Town Square.

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Bordering Gresham

+ Compare

Portland641,165 people · $582K homes

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Fairview10,735 people · $428K homes

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Troutdale15,923 people · $456K homes

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Orient481 people · $936K homes

Towns like Gresham

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Springfield61,499 people · $359K homes

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Salem178,865 people · $417K homes

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Albany56,839 people · $389K homes

+ Compare

Hillsboro108,231 people · $521K 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.

Gresham vs Medford

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $380 more a month in Gresham

Medford places higher on 17 of 23 OR lists

What daily life feels like in each

220 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Living in Gresham

Set another town beside Gresham and Medford

Bordering Gresham

Towns like Gresham

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