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Pendleton, Oregon

Pendleton is a small town of about 17,000 people in Umatilla County, Oregon. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.3 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 185 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
16,989
down 0.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$287,100
Umatilla County prices up 11% since 2022
Household income
$66,563
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Oregon
97.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
St. Anthony Hospital
To Portland
185 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 4.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood65 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 20.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town8 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle, 2 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close bySt. Anthony Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPortland is about 185 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 Pendleton 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
$287,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 11%Umatilla County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$956 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$66,563U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
57%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,871 a yearOregon: $3,876
Homes built before 1940
24%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Oregon outside metro areas, not Pendleton 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
16,9892020: 17,009
Median age
36.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
25%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%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 (27%); retail (12%); government (12%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
14 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton, OR, in town. 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: Providence St. Mary Medical Center, Walla Walla, WA, about 36 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 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

8 public schools in Pendleton, run by Pendleton SD 16 and InterMountain ESD.

Colleges in or next to town: Blue Mountain Community College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
87%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
28°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
45 a year
Nights at or below freezing
109 a year
Rain and melted snow
13.1 inches a year
Snow
18 inches a year
Elevation
1,126 feet

Weather stations: Pendleton Dwtn (1 mile away) and Pendleton Wfo (2 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: Kennewick, Portland.

Umatilla 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

17 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the South Main Street Commercial Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Whitman Mission National Historic Site30 miles

Read about Pendleton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Pendleton?

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

  • Riverside, OR (unincorporated)362 people, 4 miles
  • Green Meadows, OR (unincorporated)584 people, 4 miles
  • Gopher Flats, OR (unincorporated)382 people, 5 miles
  • Tutuilla, OR (unincorporated)365 people, 7 miles
  • Mission, OR (unincorporated)878 people, 8 miles
  • Kirkpatrick, OR (unincorporated)258 people, 8 miles
  • Adams, OR385 people, 14 miles
  • Helix, OR194 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.