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Towns / Oregon

Prineville, Oregon

Prineville is a small town of about 12,000 people in Crook County, Oregon. It's the county seat. It's growing fast: its population is up 10% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.8 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 122 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townCounty seat

Population
11,994
up 10% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$425,900
Crook County prices up 8.7% since 2022
Household income
$72,980
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Bend area
103.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
St. Charles Medical Center Prineville
To Portland
122 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.6% above the U.S. average in the Bend metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.8 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 Prineville 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 town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySt. Charles Medical Center Prineville is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPortland is about 122 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 Prineville 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 10% 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
$425,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 8.7%Crook County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,355 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$72,980U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
60%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,686 a yearOregon: $3,876
Homes built before 1940
4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
19%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
103.6U.S. average = 100 (the Bend 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 8.7% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Bend metro area, not Prineville 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
11,9942020: 10,883
Median age
38.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%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 (25%); retail (14%); manufacturing (14%)
Unemployment rate
9%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
16%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Charles Medical Center Prineville, Prineville, 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: St. Charles Medical Center - Bend, Bend, OR, about 26 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

5 public schools in Prineville, run by Crook County SD.

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
71%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%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
25°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
31 a year
Nights at or below freezing
166 a year
Rain and melted snow
10.3 inches a year
Snow
9 inches a year
Elevation
2,861 feet

Weather station: Prineville (1 mile 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: Bend, Portland.

Crook 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

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • John Day Fossil Beds National Monument36 miles

Read about Prineville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Prineville?

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

  • Ochoco West, OR (unincorporated)319 people, 8 miles
  • Prineville Lake Acres, OR (unincorporated)1,497 people, 10 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.