Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Milton-Freewater earns a D, 105th of 142 graded towns in Oregon, mostly because of health and incomes. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 90% of the country. The median household income is $52K, and 13% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. Only 14 of Oregon’s 228 towns score higher on hazard risk. Milton-Freewater has 7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Williams Frazier Farmstead and Still-Perkins House. On civic life, just 10 of Oregon’s 161 towns do worse.
Where Milton-Freewater beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oregon), ordered by how far Milton-Freewater is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for health (better than 10%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,110 in 1960, 7,151 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1883 and 3 maps from 1964 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Milton-Freewater, 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 Milton-Freewater.
Milton-Freewater sends many workers across the state line to College Place, fares better on crime within Oregon than nationally and has home values climbing faster than Oregon’s.
19% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Milton-Freewater, against 8.4% in Oregon’s towns and 8.1% across U.S. towns. 72% of Milton-Freewater adults had a checkup this year. Milton-Freewater beats the Oregon average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 14.
| Milton-Freewater | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 8.4% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 20% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 21% | 25% |
| What stands out | Milton-Freewater | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.5% | 8.9% |
| More uninsured adults | 19.2% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Milton-Freewater Unified SD 7. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is McLoughlin High School, with 449 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gib Olinger Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–3 | Grades K–3 | 498 | – |
| McLoughlin High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 449 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OR on state tests and graduation
Home values rose 27% in five years, to about $310K, against 7% across Oregon.
At $877 a month, Milton-Freewater’s median rent is where Oregon’s towns sit at $1,415 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. 48% of households own their home in Milton-Freewater. The typical Milton-Freewater home is worth about $310,000, up 4% in a year, 37% below the Oregon typical home.
| Milton-Freewater | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 48% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $877 a month | $1,415 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
27% of working residents cross a state line to work, College Place among the top destinations.
Most working residents leave Milton-Freewater for work: only 19% work in town. Milton-Freewater’s average trip to work is 17 minutes. The top destinations are Walla Walla (22%), Pendleton (4%) and Portland (4%).
| Milton-Freewater | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 9.5% | 8% |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Milton-Freewater has mild winters and warm summers, with very little rain. The July high in Milton-Freewater is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 25.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 53% of Oregon’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 151 to 92 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.3 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Milton-Freewater | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Yantis Park | 0.2 mi | 8 |
| 2. Freewater Park | — | 6 |
| 3. Orchard Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Milton-Freewater
About 3 of every 100 Milton-Freewater residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oregon.
7 places in Milton-Freewater on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Oregon, United States
Milton-Freewater is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The city received its current name in 1951 when the neighboring rival cities of Milton and Freewater voted to merge. The population was 7,151 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pendleton–Hermiston Micropolitan Statistical Area. Milton-Freewater is home to a growing wine industry.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Milton-Freewater grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #105 of 142 in Oregon. It grades D for health, C+ for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
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 George Buck Flower and Hank Anderson.
