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%

Waterloo$1,710/mo

Typical home $294K (Census) · tax rate 0.70% · or rent about $1,167/mo · Housing →

Adams$1,400/mo

Typical home $225K (Census) · tax rate 1.16% · Housing →

The difference: $320 a month, about $3,800 a year, between Waterloo and Adams.

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

WaterlooAdams

Snow a year0″15″

January low—27°F

July high—90°F

Growing season (days)—135d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)52nd 54th

Outdoors & history

WaterlooAdams

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land3%0%

Settled1893 1893

National Register places—2

Archive photos—7

Community

WaterlooAdams

Library hours a week—24 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.

Where they are

225 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

WaterlooOR AdamsOR

Waterloo ↔ Adams225 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

WaterlooAdams

People

Population 229Lowest 292Highest

Median age 49.5±10.4Lowest 23% above OR 49.9±15.6Highest 24% above OR

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

Kids under 18 5.7%±8.6Highest OR: 19.9% 1%±11.8Lowest OR: 19.9%

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

Age 65+ 26.6%±16.5Lowest OR: 19.1% 31.5%±3.1Highest OR: 19.1%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 11%Lowest OR: 36.8% 21.5%Highest OR: 36.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 1.7%±6.2Highest OR: 5.7% 0%±6.3Lowest OR: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $88,750±$26kHighest 7% above OR $57,212±$13kLowest 31% below OR

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $293,800±$128kHighest 38% below OR $225,000±$53kLowest 53% below OR

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,167±$567 23% below OR —

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,068Lowest 47% below OR $2,603Highest 33% below OR

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 50%±100Highest OR: 52.5% 0%±100Lowest OR: 52.5%

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

Below poverty line 3.5%Highest OR: 11.9% 2.1%Lowest OR: 11.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 95.5%Highest OR: 63.3% 91.6%Lowest OR: 63.3%

Typical home builtmedian year 1971Lowest 10 yrs older than OR 1976Highest 5 yrs older than OR

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 34 minHighest 48% above OR 25 minLowest 10% above OR

Work from home 19.8%±14.4Highest OR: 19% 12.1%±10.3Lowest OR: 19%

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

Work in townworking residents 0%Lowest 0.7%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 21.8 miHighest 15.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.14Highest 0.12Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Lebanon (15%)Pendleton (21%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in AdamsFew work in Waterloo

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.3 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 2Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 226Highest 135Lowest

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.

Waterloo neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Waterloo’s Town Square.

Adams neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Adams’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Waterloo and Adams

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

Towns like Waterloo

+ Compare

Sodaville309 people · $347K homes

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Ukiah177 people

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Mount Vernon364 people · $143K homes

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Imbler189 people · $275K 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.

Waterloo vs Adams

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $320 more a month in Waterloo

What daily life feels like in each

225 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Waterloo and Adams

Towns like Waterloo

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