Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,861, settled in 1897.
Gearhart’s best subject grades are an A for walkability and the outdoors; its weakest is a D for hazard risk. Gearhart’s July high is 67°F, where Oregon’s towns sit at 82°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. Only 2 of the 82 Oregon towns we compare have a lower violent crime rate than Gearhart. Gearhart's public schools trail 74% of Oregon towns on state tests and graduation. Gearhart’s trail density is 4.0 miles per square mile, against 0.8 in Oregon’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 14 of Oregon’s 228 towns do better. Gearhart has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Goodwin-Wilkinson Farmhouse and Sea Lyft. Gearhart has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Gearhart beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
1,462 counted in 2010 and 1,793 in 2020; an estimated 1,861 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oregon), ordered by how far Gearhart is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 75 in 1910, 1,793 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 4 maps from 1927 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gearhart. Close and well known come first.
7 mi LandmarkFort Clatsop
8 mi LighthouseTillamook Rock Light
12 mi LandmarkFort Stevens
8 mi State parkEcola State Park
12 mi LandmarkAstoria Column
3 mi National Historical ParkLewis and Clark National Historical Park244K visitors a yearFort Clatsop: Glenn Scofield Williams from USA, CC BY 2.0 · Tillamook Rock Light: Jwyoung, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Stevens: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives, Attribution · Ecola State Park: Brmuchim (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Astoria Column: The original uploader was Decumanus at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lewis and Clark National Historical Park: National Park Service Digital Image Archives, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gearhart, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Oct 2, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Gearhart.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 85% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gearhart.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Gearhart for work: only 4% work in town. Gearhart’s average trip to work is 16 minutes. Only 7 of the 143 Oregon towns we compare have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Gearhart.
| Gearhart | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.6% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.3% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
7.9 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Ocean Shore State Recreation Area, 70 acres with 1.6 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ocean Shore State Recreation Area | 1.6 mi | 70 |
| 2. Gearhart Ocean State Recreation Area | 1.1 mi | 55 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Gearhart beats the Oregon average on 7 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 28% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Gearhart. Among 143 Oregon towns, just 9 have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Gearhart.
| Gearhart | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Gearhart | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.1% | 8.5% |
| Fewer adults in frequent mental distress | 14.9% | 17.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.4% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Gearhart home is worth about $624,000, up 0.9% in a year, 27% above the Oregon typical home. 86% of Gearhart households own their home.
| Gearhart | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 86% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,093 a month | $1,414 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Gearhart has mild winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Gearhart is 37°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Gearhart's reported crime rate is well below Oregon's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. No violent crimes were reported in 2023.
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Gearhart
About 3 of every 100 Gearhart residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oregon.
Where Gearhart’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Oregon, United States
Gearhart is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 census, Gearhart had a population of 1,793.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Gearhart.
Gearhart has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Gearhart reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Gearhart with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 8.7 years of the area's median household income ($71,822 across the Astoria, OR area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
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