Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hood River's standout: it is among the most walkable places in the country. Overall it grades B−, 43rd of 142 graded towns in Oregon. Residents are healthier than 78% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and its schools rank ahead of 75% of Oregon towns. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $705K, 7.9 years of the Hood River area’s $89K median household income. 36% of working residents work locally in Hood River, where Oregon’s towns sit at 9.5% and U.S. towns at 8%. Only 11 of Oregon’s 228 towns score higher on hazard risk. Its National Register listings include Columbia Gorge Hotel and Waucoma Hotel.
Where Hood River beats most towns.
Columbia Gorge Hotel
Census counts: 200 in 1880, 8,313 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1884 and 3 maps from 1957 on.
23 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oregon), ordered by how far Hood River is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 11%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hood River, 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 Hood River.
Hood River carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Oregon (mostly inland flooding), draws workers from The Dalles and beyond and fares better on crime within Oregon than nationally.
6.0 miles of trail in 24 parks and preserves. Hood River’s trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Eliot Park, at 20 acres.
| Hood River | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.8 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.2% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Eliot Park | 0.4 mi | 20 |
| 2. Port Marina Park | 0.2 mi | 13 |
| 3. Waterfront Park | 0.1 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Hood River County SD. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hood River Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 461 | – |
| Horizon Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 270 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OR on state tests and graduation
6,317 jobs are based in Hood River, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.5 minutes, against 23 across Oregon.
About one in 3 of Hood River’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Hood River is 17 minutes. Jobs based in Hood River grew to 6,317 in 2023, 1,251 more than in 2013.
| Hood River | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 26% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 7.9 years of the Hood River area’s $89K median household income, the typical home (about $705K) costs more against local pay than in 94% of Oregon towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
53% of Hood River households own their home. The typical Hood River home is worth about $705,000, up 2.7% in a year, 43% above the Oregon typical home.
| Hood River | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,480 a month | $1,413 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
72% of adults had a checkup this year in Hood River. Hood River beats the Oregon average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Hood River.
| Hood River | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 73% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Hood River | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.7% | 6.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 30 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 55% of Oregon’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 301 to 164 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Only 7 of the 75 Oregon towns we compare have a lower violent crime rate than Hood River.
| Hood River | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.8 per 1,000 residents | 15.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 94% of Oregon towns, with expected losses of about $283 per resident a year; that rating is what its B+ for hazard risk is built on.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Hood River has mild winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 32° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hood River. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi MountainMount Hood
30 mi WaterfallMultnomah Falls
13 mi Canyon & gorgeColumbia River Gorge
34 mi MountainMount Adams
21 mi DamBonneville Dam
35 mi National forestGifford Pinchot National ForestMount Hood: Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory., Public domain · Multnomah Falls: John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Columbia River Gorge: Hux, Public domain · Mount Adams: USGS Photo by R. Iverson, USGS/CVO, Public domain · Bonneville Dam: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain · Gifford Pinchot National Forest: Walter Siegmund (talk), CC BY 2.5
None within 15 miles of Hood River; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Hood River residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Oregon.
7,167 counted in 2010 and 8,313 in 2020; an estimated 8,315 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 16% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
23 places in Hood River on the National Register of Historic Places.
18 notable people were born in Hood River.
City in Oregon, U.S.
Hood River is a city in and the county seat of Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is a port on the Columbia River, and is named for the nearby Hood River. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 8,313. It is the only city in Oregon where public consumption of alcohol on sidewalks or parks is completely unrestricted.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Hood River grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #43 of 142 in Oregon. It grades A− for health, C for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
18 notable people were born here, including Cecil D. Andrus and Minoru Yasui.
