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Towns / Oregon

Gearhart, Oregon

Gearhart is a tourist town of about 1,900 people in Clatsop County, Oregon. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 7.5 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 70 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist town

Population
1,861
up 3.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$688,100
Clatsop County prices up 7.5% since 2022
Household income
$92,250
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Oregon
97.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Seaside, OR
To Portland
70 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.8% below the U.S. average in the parts of Oregon outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 7.5 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 Gearhart 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 Seaside High School, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byProvidence Seaside Hospital in Seaside, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPortland is about 70 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 Gearhart 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

Tourist town. About 42% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

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
$688,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 7.5%Clatsop County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,093 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$92,250U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
86%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,282 a yearOregon: $3,876
Homes built before 1940
12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
14%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
42%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
97.2U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Oregon outside metro areas)

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 7.5% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Oregon outside metro areas, not Gearhart 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
1,8612020: 1,804
Median age
48.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
31%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
48%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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 (22%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (22%); professional and business services (15%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
19%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Providence Seaside Hospital, Seaside, OR, about 3 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: Peacehealth St. John Medical Center, Longview, WA, about 47 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 Gearhart itself. The nearest public high school is Seaside High School, about 3 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
85%U.S.: 76%

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
39°F
July average high
65°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
29 a year
Rain and melted snow
76.7 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
21 feet

Weather station: Seaside (3 miles away). 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: Providence Seaside Hospital, Hillsboro, Portland.

Clatsop County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Lewis and Clark National Historical Park3 miles

Read about Gearhart's history on Wikipedia.

Know Gearhart?

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

  • Jeffers Gardens, OR (unincorporated)235 people, 9 miles
  • River Point, OR (unincorporated)475 people, 9 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.