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%

Pendleton$1,830/mo

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

Cottage Grove$2,420/mo

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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

10Pendleton

11Cottage Grove

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

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

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

PendletonCottage Grove

Snow a year16″3″

January low28°F 33°F

July high89°F 82°F

Growing season (days)174d 183d

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

Outdoors & history

PendletonCottage Grove

Trails3 mi 7 mi

Conserved land1.2%6.5%

Settled1851 1887

National Register places17 8

Archive photos—6

Famous people born here—6

Community

PendletonCottage Grove

Library hours a week48 hrs 44 hrs

Colleges in town1 —

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.

PendletonOR Cottage GroveOR

Pendleton ↔ Cottage Grove245 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

PendletonCottage Grove

People

Population 16,950Highest 10,698Lowest

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

Median age 36.9±2.7Lowest 9% below OR 38.9±3.4Highest 4% 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 24.4%±2.8Highest OR: 19.9% 22.1%±3.5Lowest 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+ 17.8%±2.4Highest OR: 19.1% 17%±2.8Lowest 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+ 24.7%Highest OR: 36.8% 21.1%Lowest OR: 36.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.5%±1.5Highest OR: 5.7% 4.7%±1.8Lowest 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 $66,563±$7kLowest 20% below OR $80,875±$12kHighest about the OR average

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 $287,100±$16kLowest 40% below OR $346,600±$11kHighest 27% below OR

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

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

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 50.4%±8.6Highest OR: 52.5% 41.7%±11.5Lowest 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 15%Highest OR: 11.9% 10.7%Lowest OR: 11.9%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 7.9%±2.4Lowest OR: 19% 9.7%±3.4Highest 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 46.9%Highest 18%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 4.8 miLowest 18.8 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Cottage GroveFew work in Pendleton

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.2%Lowest 6.5%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 3.0 miLowest 7.4 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miLowest 1.9 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 18Highest 9Lowest

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

Schools

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

School district Pendleton SD 16South Lane SD 45J3

High school in town Pendleton High SchoolCottage Grove High School

Students per teacherat that high school 19.7Highest 19.4Lowest

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.

Pendleton neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Pendleton’s Town Square.

Cottage Grove neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cottage Grove’s Town Square.

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Towns like Pendleton

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Roseburg23,778 people · $290K homes

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La Grande13,058 people · $279K 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.

Pendleton vs Cottage Grove

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 Pendleton and Cottage Grove

Towns like Pendleton

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