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 →

The Dalles$2,330/mo

Typical home $392K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.84% · or rent about $993/mo · Housing →

The difference: $500 a month, about $5,900 a year, between The Dalles 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

Pendleton places higher on 14 of 22 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 C−The DallesSafer than 16% of U.S. towns

Schools

B−PendletonBetter than 48% of districts in the state CThe DallesBetter than 29% of districts in the state

Health

B−PendletonHealthier than 52% of U.S. towns CThe DallesHealthier than 32% of U.S. towns

14Pendleton

8The Dalles

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 147 towns #138#6 Fastest growingGrowth · 140 towns #117#29 Most conserved landOutdoors · 141 towns #117#50 Lowest depressionHealth · 147 towns #6#54 HealthiestHealth · 147 towns #77#120 Most walkableOutdoors · 147 towns #125#82 Best schoolsSchools · 121 towns #35#60 Most activeHealth · 147 towns #80#108

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

PendletonThe Dalles

Snow a year16″6″

January low28°F 29°F

July high89°F 88°F

Growing season (days)174d 191d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)55th 66th

Outdoors & history

PendletonThe Dalles

Trails3 mi 3 mi

Conserved land1.2%6.9%

Settled1851 1857

National Register places17 23

Archive photos—12

Famous people born here—23

Community

PendletonThe Dalles

Library hours a week48 hrs 56 hrs

Colleges in town1 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

113 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

PendletonOR The DallesOR

Pendleton ↔ The Dalles113 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

PendletonThe Dalles

People

Population 16,950Highest 15,917Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +3%Lowest OR: +10.6% +17.5%Highest OR: +10.6%

Median age 36.9±2.7Lowest 9% below OR 38.5±1.2Highest 5% below OR

The Dalles 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% 22.5%±2Lowest OR: 19.9%

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

Age 65+ 17.8%±2.4Lowest OR: 19.1% 20.1%±2.1Highest OR: 19.1%

The Dalles and Pendleton 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% 22.7%Lowest OR: 36.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.5%±1.5Highest OR: 5.7% 5.2%±1.4Lowest OR: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $66,563±$7kHighest 20% below OR $62,614±$5kLowest 25% below OR

Pendleton and The Dalles 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 $360,800±$22kHighest 24% below OR

Rentmedian gross, monthly $956±$51Lowest 37% below OR $993±$118Highest 35% below OR

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,871Lowest 26% below OR $3,030Highest 22% below OR

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 50.4%±8.6Highest OR: 52.5% 49.6%±7.8Lowest OR: 52.5%

Pendleton and The Dalles 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% 11%Lowest OR: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 56.5%Lowest OR: 63.3% 63.2%Highest OR: 63.3%

Typical home builtmedian year 1963Lowest 18 yrs older than OR 1964Highest 17 yrs older than OR

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 14 minLowest 38% below OR 17 minHighest 28% below OR

Work from home 7.9%±2.4Highest OR: 19% 7.4%±2.1Lowest OR: 19%

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

Work in townworking residents 46.9%Highest 40.9%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 4.8 miLowest 15.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.04Highest 1.03Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Mission (12%)Portland (8%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in The DallesFew work in Pendleton

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.2%Lowest 6.9%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 3.0 miLowest 3.2 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miLowest 0.5 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 18Highest 11Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 56.3Lowest 90.9Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #35 of 121 in OR #60 of 121 in OR

School district Pendleton SD 16North Wasco County SD 21

High school in town Pendleton High SchoolThe Dalles High School

Students per teacherat that high school 19.7 19.7

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.

The Dalles neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to The Dalles’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.

Pendleton vs The Dalles

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $500 more a month in The Dalles

Pendleton places higher on 14 of 22 OR lists

What daily life feels like in each

113 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Pendleton and The Dalles

Towns like Pendleton

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