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Towns / Oregon

Molalla, Oregon

Molalla is a small town of about 10,100 people in Clackamas County, Oregon. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 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 27 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
10,104
down 1.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$447,100
Clackamas County prices up 5.1% since 2022
Household income
$89,318
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Portland area
105.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Oregon City, OR
To Portland
27 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 5.4% above the U.S. average in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood20 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byProvidence Willamette Falls Medical Center in Oregon City, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPortland is about 27 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 Molalla 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$447,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 5.1%Clackamas County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,654 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$89,318U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
55%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,417 a yearOregon: $3,876
Homes built before 1940
8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
13%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
105.4U.S. average = 100 (the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 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 5.1% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro area, not Molalla 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
10,1042020: 10,230
Median age
32.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
9%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
19%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

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 (23%); retail (15%); construction (13%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%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 Willamette Falls Medical Center, Oregon City, OR, about 13 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

5 public schools in Molalla, run by Molalla River SD 35.

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
79%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
35°F
July average high
81°F
Days 90°F or hotter
17 a year
Nights at or below freezing
42 a year
Rain and melted snow
47.2 inches a year
Snow
1 inches a year
Elevation
364 feet

Weather stations: Molalla 7NE (4 miles away) and Silverton (14 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: Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center, Tigard, Portland.

Clackamas County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Fort Vancouver National Historic Site33 miles

Read about Molalla's history on Wikipedia.

Know Molalla?

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

  • Mulino, OR (unincorporated)2,229 people, 5 miles
  • Scotts Mills, OR414 people, 9 miles
  • Barlow, OR134 people, 10 miles
  • Butteville, OR (unincorporated)226 people, 14 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.