Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
La Grande's standout: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades C−, 79th among Oregon's 142 graded towns. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $58K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. 50% of working residents work locally in La Grande, where Oregon’s towns sit at 9.5% and U.S. towns at 8%. Only 21 of Oregon’s 228 towns score higher on hazard risk. La Grande has 11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them U.S. Post Office and Federal Building and Anthony-Buckley House.
Where La Grande beats most towns.
U.S. Post Office and Federal Building
Census counts: 240 in 1870, 13,026 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1891 and 2 maps from 1963 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oregon), ordered by how far La Grande is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for jobs and income (better than 11%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in La Grande, 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 La Grande.
La Grande carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Oregon (mostly cold waves), fares better on crime within Oregon than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 98% of Oregon towns, with expected losses of about $88 per resident a year; that rating is what its B for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in La Grande is 10 of 100. Since 1979, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in La Grande.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by La Grande SD 1. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is La Grande High School, with 604 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Grande Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 480 | B− |
| La Grande High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 604 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OR on state tests and graduation
At 35.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 66% of Oregon’s graded towns.
La Grande’s property crime rate is 20.1 per 1,000 residents.
| La Grande | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.1 per 1,000 residents | 15.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Home values rose 28% in five years, to about $300K, against 7% across Oregon.
The typical La Grande home is worth about $300,000, up 3.4% in a year, 39% below the Oregon typical home. 51% of La Grande households own their home. Among 140 Oregon towns, just 10 have a lower median rent than La Grande.
| La Grande | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $968 a month | $1,415 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 24.5°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 84% of Oregon places with climate records; July afternoons average 83.7°.
La Grande has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Among 142 Oregon towns, just 9 have a lower January low than La Grande.
| La Grande | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 25°F | 36°F | 22°F |
| July high | 84°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 5,484 working residents takes 13.1 minutes, against 23 across Oregon.
Among 142 Oregon towns, just 2 have a lower average trip to work than La Grande. 6.8% of workers work from home in La Grande. Since 2013, La Grande has added 388 jobs, to 6,172 in 2023.
| La Grande | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 6.8% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,501 U.S. towns with household incomes like La Grande’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
La Grande beats the Oregon average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| La Grande | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 73% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 32% | 36% |
| What stands out | La Grande | OR |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.6% | 12.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 8% | 6.8% |
| More smokers | 14.1% | 12% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| La Grande | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pioneer Park | — | 26 |
| 2. Bernie Park | — | 3 |
| 3. Candy Cane Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of La Grande
About 7 of every 100 La Grande residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Oregon.
11 places in La Grande on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in La Grande.
City in Oregon, United States
La Grande () is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Oregon, United States. La Grande is Union County's largest city, with a population of 13,026 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. The La Grande micropolitan population is 25,076. It is the 16th largest metro or micropolitan area in Oregon. La Grande is located on the western margin of the Grande Ronde Valley that is bounded by the Blue Mountains and Wallowa Mountains. These mountains and the Grande Ronde River offer abundance of natural resources and wildlife. Initially a logging and agriculture town, it has become a sports and recreation destination. It is the hub for surrounding communities offering outdoor recreation, shoppin…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
La Grande grades C− overall, better than 21% of U.S. towns and #79 of 142 in Oregon. It grades B− for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.6 years of the area's median household income ($65,661 across the La Grande, 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.
14 notable people were born here, including Agnes Vernon and John F. Nugent.
