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%

Imbler$1,640/mo

Typical home $275K (Census) · tax rate 0.85% · Housing →

Gates$2,660/mo

Typical home $468K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.53% · or rent about $1,152/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,020 a month, about $12,300 a year, between Gates and Imbler.

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

ImblerGates

Snow a year9″10″

January low25°F 36°F

July high86°F 80°F

Growing season (days)146d 270d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)52nd 81st

Outdoors & history

ImblerGates

Settled1922 1950

Archive photos6 —

Famous people born here—1

Community

ImblerGates

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

223 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

ImblerOR GatesOR

Imbler ↔ Gates223 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

ImblerGates

People

Population 189Lowest 452Highest

Median age 57.8±4Highest 43% above OR 57.2±4.8Lowest 42% above OR

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

Kids under 18 18%±17Highest OR: 19.9% 15.3%±8.2Lowest OR: 19.9%

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

Age 65+ 27%±11.7Highest OR: 19.1% 23.7%±4.5Lowest OR: 19.1%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 18.3%Highest OR: 36.8% 16.9%Lowest OR: 36.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0%±9.7Lowest OR: 5.7% 3.8%±3Highest OR: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $66,250±$18kHighest 20% below OR $65,670±$5kLowest 21% below OR

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $275,000±$23kLowest 42% below OR $349,200±$29kHighest 27% below OR

Rentmedian gross, monthly — $1,152±$182 24% below OR

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,346Highest 39% below OR $1,841Lowest 53% below OR

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 100%±100Highest OR: 52.5% 42.4%±46.3Lowest OR: 52.5%

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

Below poverty line 27.5%Highest OR: 11.9% 9.5%Lowest OR: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 92.2%Highest OR: 63.3% 84%Lowest OR: 63.3%

Typical home builtmedian year 1977Lowest 4 yrs older than OR 1983Highest 2 yrs newer than OR

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 17 minLowest 26% below OR 37 minHighest 61% above OR

Work from home 13.6%±8.8Highest OR: 19% 11.5%±7.5Lowest OR: 19%

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

Work in townworking residents 7.6%Highest 0.6%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 12.3 miLowest 32.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.41Highest 0.17Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town La Grande (29%)Salem (20%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in GatesFew work in Imbler

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.2 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 129Highest 46.6Lowest

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.

Imbler neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Imbler’s Town Square.

Gates neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Gates’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Imbler and Gates

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

Towns like Imbler

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Westfir253 people · $302K homes

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Nehalem235 people · $457K homes

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Detroit111 people · $310K homes

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Haines209 people · $112K 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.

Imbler vs Gates

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,020 more a month in Gates

What daily life feels like in each

223 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Imbler and Gates

Towns like Imbler

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