Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Jefferson earns a D, 110th of 142 graded towns in Oregon, mostly because of schools. Its schools rank behind 88% of the state's. In its favor, it is healthier than 62% of U.S. towns. On walkability, just 16 of Oregon’s 228 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include Jefferson Methodist Church and Jacob Conser House. Among 142 Oregon towns, just 6 have a lower median age than Jefferson.
Where Jefferson beats most towns.
Where Jefferson’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oregon), ordered by how far Jefferson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 307 in 1890, 3,327 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1854 and 4 maps from 1912 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jefferson. Close and well known come first.
17 mi Stadium & arenaReser Stadium
8 mi Theme parkEnchanted Forest
34 mi MuseumEvergreen Aviation & Space Museum
22 mi State parkSilver Falls State Park
23 mi MuseumOregon Electric Railway Museum
22 mi GardenOregon GardenReser Stadium: Zapper258, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Enchanted Forest: Trashbag (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum: Notkeel at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Silver Falls State Park: Kelvin Kay -- Kkmd at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Oregon Electric Railway Museum: Steve Morgan, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Oregon Garden: Daderot, CC0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jefferson, 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 Jefferson.
Jefferson sends most of its workers to Salem and beyond and owes part of its health edge to its incomes.
Its public schools are run by Jefferson SD 14J. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 272 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OR on state tests and graduation
Jefferson has 352 jobs for its 1,423 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Jefferson for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2013, Jefferson has added 101 jobs, to 352 in 2023. At $102,000, Jefferson’s median household income is above both Oregon’s towns ($81,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000).
| Jefferson | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $102,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 10% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Jefferson.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jefferson has mild winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 36° and about 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 8,260 U.S. towns with household incomes like Jefferson’s, it is less healthy than 59%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
41% of Jefferson adults have obesity, where Oregon’s towns sit at 35% and U.S. towns at 35%. 29% of Jefferson adults have been diagnosed with depression. Jefferson beats the Oregon average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Jefferson | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 73% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 21% | 25% |
| What stands out | Jefferson | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.5% | 6.5% |
| More adults with obesity | 41.4% | 33.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Jefferson home is worth about $457,000, about the same as a year ago, 7% below the Oregon typical home. 87% of households own their home in Jefferson.
| Jefferson | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 87% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,328 a month | $1,415 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Jefferson
About 5 of every 100 Jefferson residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Oregon.
3 places in Jefferson on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Oregon, United States
Jefferson is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,327 at the 2020 census. The city sits on the east (right) bank of the Santiam River between Salem and Albany along Oregon Route 164 east of Interstate 5.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Jefferson grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #110 of 142 in Oregon. It grades B for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 5.8 years of the area's median household income ($78,900 across the Salem, OR metro 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+.
2 notable people were born here, including Frederick Steiwer and Datus E. Myers.
