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%

Joseph$2,850/mo

Typical home $494K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.64% · or rent about $1,151/mo · Housing →

Sunriver$4,220/mo

Typical home $728K (Census) · tax rate 0.66% · Housing →

The difference: $1,360 a month, about $16,300 a year, between Sunriver and Joseph.

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

Joseph gets 33 more inches of snow a year

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

JosephSunriver

Snow a year54″22″

January low19°F 25°F

July high79°F 84°F

Growing season (days)126d 105d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)77th 78th

Outdoors & history

JosephSunriver

Trails0 mi 11 mi

Conserved land1.8%15.5%

Settled1887 —

National Register places3 —

Archive photos—6

Community

JosephSunriver

Library hours a week32 hrs 40 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.

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

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

–JosephNot graded B−SunriverSafer than 48% of U.S. towns

Schools

A+JosephBetter than 97% of districts in the state A−SunriverBetter than 83% of districts in the state

Health

BJosephHealthier than 59% of U.S. towns ASunriverHealthier than 91% of U.S. towns

Where they are

230 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

JosephOR SunriverOR

Joseph ↔ Sunriver230 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

JosephSunriver

People

Population 1,054Lowest 1,488Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +6.8%Lowest OR: +10.6% +45.2%Highest OR: +10.6%

Median age 58±10.5Lowest 44% above OR 70.7±1.7Highest 75% above OR

Kids under 18 15.8%±6.7Highest OR: 19.9% 0%±2.5Lowest OR: 19.9%

Age 65+ 36.6%±7.5Lowest OR: 19.1% 72.2%±7.7Highest OR: 19.1%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 51.8%Lowest OR: 36.8% 71%Highest OR: 36.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.4%±3.6Highest OR: 5.7% 0%±1.2Lowest OR: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $54,444±$8kLowest 34% below OR $82,287±$34kHighest about the OR average

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $334,900±$46kLowest 30% below OR $727,600±$117kHighest 52% above OR

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,151±$369 25% below OR —

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,157Lowest 44% below OR $4,799Highest 24% above OR

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 42.7%±29Lowest OR: 52.5% 100%±100Highest OR: 52.5%

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

Below poverty line 5.7%Lowest OR: 11.9% 6.7%Highest OR: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 67%Lowest OR: 63.3% 91.9%Highest OR: 63.3%

Typical home builtmedian year 1982Lowest 1 yr newer than OR 1988Highest 7 yrs newer than OR

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 16 minLowest 29% below OR 25 minHighest 10% above OR

Work from home 14.8%±9.2Lowest OR: 19% 52.1%±25Highest OR: 19%

Work in townworking residents 20.3%Highest 11.6%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 5.8 miLowest 83.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.06Lowest 3.29Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Enterprise (32%)Bend (22%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in SunriverFew work in Joseph

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.8%Lowest 15.5%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.1 miLowest 11.0 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miLowest 1.2 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 5Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 112Highest 85.1Lowest

Schools

School district —Bend-LaPine Administrative SD 1

High school in town —None in town

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.

Joseph neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Joseph’s Town Square.

Sunriver neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sunriver’s Town Square.

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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.

Joseph vs Sunriver

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,360 more a month in Sunriver

Joseph gets 33 more inches of snow a year

Grades and rankings, side by side

230 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Joseph and Sunriver

Towns like Joseph

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