Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town was settled in 1891 and has 1,617 residents today.
Merlin’s weakest subject grade is a D− for hazard risk. Merlin’s average commute is 36 minutes, against 23 minutes in Oregon’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 11 of Oregon’s 228 towns do worse. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 8 of Oregon’s 228 towns do worse. Hugo Community Baptist Church and Rand Ranger Station is on the National Register of Historic Places. Merlin has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oregon), ordered by how far Merlin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1982 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Merlin is unincorporated, so Josephine County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Merlin.
FEMA puts nearly half of Merlin’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 26% to wildfires. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 95% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Public schools: Three Rivers/Josephine County SD. It has one school. Merlin’s only public school teaches 213 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OR on state tests and graduation
Merlin’s peak summer temperature stands at 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs in Merlin fell by 25 from 2013 to 2023, to 360. Most people who work leave Merlin to do it: just 3% work in town. The top destinations are Grants Pass (34%), Medford (12%) and Roseburg (2%). Half the trips to work are shorter than 9 miles.
| Merlin | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3.1% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.8% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The share of adults in Merlin who have obesity: 32%. This Oregon town beats the Oregon average on 3 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 12. Two figures for adults in the town: 17% report frequent physical distress, 40% have high blood pressure.
| Merlin | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 33% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Merlin | OR |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 78.2% | 71.4% |
| More adults getting a yearly checkup | 76.5% | 72.6% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.9% | 6.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes in Merlin are typically worth about $473,000, about the same as a year ago, close to the Oregon typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Merlin Community Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Merlin
About 4 of every 100 Merlin residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oregon.
Unincorporated community in the state of Oregon, United States
Merlin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Josephine County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 census, Merlin had a population of 1,690. The area is known for sport fishing and whitewater rafting on the Rogue River. Merlin's ZIP code is 97532. A new railroad station in this location in 1883 was called "Jump Off Joe" for a local stream. The station was renamed "Merlin" in October 1886. The name came from a railroad civil engineer who named it for the merlins (a type of falcon) he saw in the area. "McAllister" post office was established about a mile north of Merlin in 1885, then moved to the vicinity of the railroad station and renamed Merlin in 1891.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 7.9 years of the area's median household income ($60,098 across the Grants Pass, 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−.