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Towns / Oregon

Brownsville, Oregon

Brownsville is a small town of about 1,900 people in Linn County, Oregon. It's growing fast: its population is up 12% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Portland, is about 81 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom town

Population
1,904
up 12% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$373,000
Linn County prices up 8.8% since 2022
Household income
$83,098
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Albany area
102.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
12 miles
Lebanon, OR
To Portland
81 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.1% above the U.S. average in the Albany metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Brownsville itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Central Linn High School, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySamaritan Lebanon Community Hospital in Lebanon, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPortland is about 81 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Brownsville meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Boom town. The population is up 12% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$373,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 8.8%Linn County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,665 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$83,098U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$3,571 a yearOregon: $3,876
Homes built before 1940
23%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
102.1U.S. average = 100 (the Albany metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 8.8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Albany metro area, not Brownsville alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,9042020: 1,698
Median age
40.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
28%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (28%); retail (14%); manufacturing (13%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, Lebanon, OR, about 12 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Samaritan Albany General Hospital, Albany, OR, about 18 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Brownsville itself. The nearest public high school is Central Linn High School, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Oregon's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
90%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
37°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
30 a year
Nights at or below freezing
38 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.1 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
337 feet

Weather stations: Lebanon (11 miles away) and Waterloo (10 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, Albany, Portland.

Linn County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Brownsville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Brownsville?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Halsey, OR946 people, 6 miles
  • Crawfordsville, OR (unincorporated)588 people, 6 miles
  • Sodaville, OR368 people, 8 miles
  • South Lebanon, OR (unincorporated)939 people, 9 miles
  • Holley, OR (unincorporated)211 people, 10 miles
  • Waterloo, OR230 people, 11 miles
  • Peoria, OR (unincorporated)130 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.