Have you ever wondered which cities in Oregon are the happiest? Well, we certainly did, and after a bit of research we found that Credit Donkey ranked cities in Oregon based on just that. But how does one judge happiness? Overall happiness and quality of life are directly related. While there’s no perfect science to it, the folks at Credit Donkey came up with a pretty nifty system of ranking cities by their happiness and quality of life. Using U.S. Census data and FBI crime statistics, they ranked every city in Oregon with a population of 10,000 or more based on restaurants per capita, crime rate, commute, departure time, income, divorce rate and housing. Here are the top 10 happiest cities in the state:
- Central Point
Flickr/ Adam Gerritsma Located in Jackson County at the center of the Rogue Valley, this 17,500-resident town is the 10th happiest city in Oregon, with a low crime rate, divorce rate, and a commute average of only 16.5 minutes.
- St. Helens
Wikipedia/ etliebe St. Helens is a small 13,000-resident city near the Washington border. Residents tend to have a bit longer of a commute time (at roughly 33 minutes per commute) but overall the town is quite safe and comfortable.
- Canby
Flickr/ Sheila Sund It’s hard to imagine being unhappy in a place as full of flowers as Canby. The city’s 16,000 residents live quite comfortably overall, with lower housing costs and crime rates, and a median income rate of over $57,000.
- West Linn
Wikipedia/ Ulmanor Of all the cities in this list, West Linn has the lowest crime rate, the highest median household income, and the lowest divorce rate in the state, although the commute time and percentage of income spent on housing were a bit higher than most others, making West Linn the 7th happiest city in Oregon.
- Pendleton
Flickr/ Jasperdo Pendleton is a happy little city on the Umatilla River and is home to the Pendleton Woolen Mills. This city has the shortest commute time of all at less than 14 minutes, and people seem to do pretty well for themselves financially, spending only 18.3% of their income on housing.
- Lake Oswego
Flickr/ Amy Meredith Besides its visual beauty and exemplary schools, Lake Oswego has a median household income of over $84,000 and a low crime rate, with the odds of being victim of a violent crime as low as 1 in 1066.
- Keizer
Wikipedia/ M.O. Stevens Keizer lies just north of Salem in Marion County. The 37,000-resident city is called the “Iris Capital of the World” and statistics place it as the fourth happiest city in Oregon.
- Newport
Flickr/ Sandy Horvath-Dori Newport is a beautiful city on the Oregon coast. Named the Dungeness Crab Capital of the World, Newport landed at the 3rd happiest city in Oregon. It has the highest number of restaurants per capita (1 per 127 inhabitants) and the second shortest commute times in the state.
- Tualatin
Wikipedia/ M.O. Stevens Tualatin is a city in Northwest Oregon with a population of 26,000, and lies near Portland and Tigard. The odds of being the victim of a violent crime are an impressive 1 in 922.3, the average household income is over 64K, and only 3.3% of residents have to leave for work before 5am.
- Hermiston
Wikipedia/ Williamborg Hermiston is a city in Umatilla county with a population of roughly 17,000 residents, and based on the information of this study, it’s the overall happiest city in Oregon. Go Hermiston!
Of course, there’s no one way to determine what makes a city happy. The only way to feel sure is to spend significant time there, meet people, hearing their stories and feel the overall vibes of the city; and even then it’s subjective. Was your city on this list? Can you think of any others that you think should be? Let us know in the comments.
Flickr/ Adam Gerritsma
Located in Jackson County at the center of the Rogue Valley, this 17,500-resident town is the 10th happiest city in Oregon, with a low crime rate, divorce rate, and a commute average of only 16.5 minutes.
Wikipedia/ etliebe
St. Helens is a small 13,000-resident city near the Washington border. Residents tend to have a bit longer of a commute time (at roughly 33 minutes per commute) but overall the town is quite safe and comfortable.
Flickr/ Sheila Sund
It’s hard to imagine being unhappy in a place as full of flowers as Canby. The city’s 16,000 residents live quite comfortably overall, with lower housing costs and crime rates, and a median income rate of over $57,000.
Wikipedia/ Ulmanor
Of all the cities in this list, West Linn has the lowest crime rate, the highest median household income, and the lowest divorce rate in the state, although the commute time and percentage of income spent on housing were a bit higher than most others, making West Linn the 7th happiest city in Oregon.
Flickr/ Jasperdo
Pendleton is a happy little city on the Umatilla River and is home to the Pendleton Woolen Mills. This city has the shortest commute time of all at less than 14 minutes, and people seem to do pretty well for themselves financially, spending only 18.3% of their income on housing.
Flickr/ Amy Meredith
Besides its visual beauty and exemplary schools, Lake Oswego has a median household income of over $84,000 and a low crime rate, with the odds of being victim of a violent crime as low as 1 in 1066.
Wikipedia/ M.O. Stevens
Keizer lies just north of Salem in Marion County. The 37,000-resident city is called the “Iris Capital of the World” and statistics place it as the fourth happiest city in Oregon.
Flickr/ Sandy Horvath-Dori
Newport is a beautiful city on the Oregon coast. Named the Dungeness Crab Capital of the World, Newport landed at the 3rd happiest city in Oregon. It has the highest number of restaurants per capita (1 per 127 inhabitants) and the second shortest commute times in the state.
Wikipedia/ M.O. Stevens
Tualatin is a city in Northwest Oregon with a population of 26,000, and lies near Portland and Tigard. The odds of being the victim of a violent crime are an impressive 1 in 922.3, the average household income is over 64K, and only 3.3% of residents have to leave for work before 5am.
Wikipedia/ Williamborg
Hermiston is a city in Umatilla county with a population of roughly 17,000 residents, and based on the information of this study, it’s the overall happiest city in Oregon. Go Hermiston!
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