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%

The Dalles$2,330/mo

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

Pendleton$1,830/mo

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

C−The DallesSafer than 16% of U.S. towns DPendletonSafer than 13% of U.S. towns

Schools

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

Health

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

8The Dalles

14Pendleton

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

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

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

The DallesPendleton

Snow a year6″16″

January low29°F 28°F

July high88°F 89°F

Growing season (days)191d 174d

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

Outdoors & history

The DallesPendleton

Trails3 mi 3 mi

Conserved land6.9%1.2%

Settled1857 1851

National Register places23 17

Archive photos12 —

Famous people born here23 —

Community

The DallesPendleton

Library hours a week56 hrs 48 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.

The DallesOR PendletonOR

The Dalles ↔ Pendleton113 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

The DallesPendleton

People

Population 15,917Lowest 16,950Highest

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

Median age 38.5±1.2Highest 5% below OR 36.9±2.7Lowest 9% 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 22.5%±2Lowest OR: 19.9% 24.4%±2.8Highest 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+ 20.1%±2.1Highest OR: 19.1% 17.8%±2.4Lowest 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+ 22.7%Lowest OR: 36.8% 24.7%Highest OR: 36.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.2%±1.4Lowest OR: 5.7% 5.5%±1.5Highest 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 $62,614±$5kLowest 25% below OR $66,563±$7kHighest 20% 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 $360,800±$22kHighest 24% below OR $287,100±$16kLowest 40% below OR

Rentmedian gross, monthly $993±$118Highest 35% below OR $956±$51Lowest 37% 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 $3,030Highest 22% below OR $2,871Lowest 26% below OR

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 49.6%±7.8Lowest OR: 52.5% 50.4%±8.6Highest 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 11%Lowest OR: 11.9% 15%Highest OR: 11.9%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 7.4%±2.1Lowest OR: 19% 7.9%±2.4Highest 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 40.9%Lowest 46.9%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 15.8 miHighest 4.8 miLowest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in PendletonFew work in The Dalles

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 6.9%Highest 1.2%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 3.2 miHighest 3.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.5 miHighest 0.3 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 11Lowest 18Highest

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

Schools

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

School district North Wasco County SD 21Pendleton SD 16

High school in town The Dalles High SchoolPendleton 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.

The Dalles neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to The Dalles’s Town Square.

Pendleton neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Pendleton’s Town Square.

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Bordering The Dalles

+ Compare

Chenoweth1,445 people · $229K homes

Towns like The Dalles

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Dallas17,531 people · $389K homes

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St. Helens14,258 people · $394K homes

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Cottage Grove10,698 people · $347K homes

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Lebanon19,344 people · $337K 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.

The Dalles vs Pendleton

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 The Dalles and Pendleton

Bordering The Dalles

Towns like The Dalles

Post to The Dalles

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