Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 13,323, founded in 1845.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Sandy grades B overall, ranked 36th of 142 in Oregon. It has 9 miles of trail. Its public schools beat 83% of Oregon towns on state tests and graduation. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $516K, 5.3 years of the Portland metro’s $97K median household income. Sandy’s trail density is 2.4 miles per square mile, against 0.8 in Oregon’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Camp Namanu is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Sandy beats most towns.
9,570 counted in 2010 and 12,612 in 2020; an estimated 13,323 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 5.4% since 2020, after 31.8% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oregon), ordered by how far Sandy is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1845, comes before those of 93% of the Oregon towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 96 in 1900, 12,612 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 4 maps from 1954 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sandy. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi MountainMount Hood
14 mi WaterfallMultnomah Falls
21 mi Stadium & arenaModa Center
22 mi Stadium & arenaProvidence Park
23 mi DamBonneville Dam
31 mi Canyon & gorgeColumbia River GorgeMount Hood: Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory., Public domain · Multnomah Falls: John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Moda Center: Lugnuts, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Providence Park: Pdx.rollingthunder, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bonneville Dam: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain · Columbia River Gorge: Hux, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sandy, 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 Sandy.
Sandy fares better on crime within Oregon than nationally, owes part of its health edge to its incomes and pairs an A− for schools with high home prices.
Sandy River Park, at 110 acres with 1.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sandy River Park | 1.9 mi | 110 |
| 2. Cedar Park | 0.5 mi | 9 |
| 3. Hamilton Ridge Park | 0.4 mi | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $516K.
Its public schools are run by Oregon Trail SD 46. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Sandy High School, with 1,420 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Ridge Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 471 | – |
| Sandy High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,420 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OR on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Sandy for work: only 11% work in town. Sandy’s median household income is $109,000, where Oregon’s towns sit at $81,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. Jobs based in Sandy grew to 3,670 in 2023, 825 more than in 2013.
| Sandy | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $109,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.8% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 7,291 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sandy’s, it is less healthy than 53%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Sandy beats the Oregon average on 10 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 31% of Sandy adults have been diagnosed with depression. Only 6 of the 142 Oregon towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Sandy.
| Sandy | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 27% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 73% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Sandy | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.8% | 6.5% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.6% | 11.2% |
| More adults with depression | 30.8% | 27.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Sandy has mild winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Sandy’s July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 13% of residents (19% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (23% statewide). The median age in Sandy is 34.8 years. Sandy has grown 5.4% since 2020, to 13,323 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Sandy | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 18% | 18% |
| Median age | 34.8 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.9 points. Across Oregon, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Sandy | OR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.6% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.7% | 9.6% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.5% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.9% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.3% | 14.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.2% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.8% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.9% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.6% | 22.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.6% | 23.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.2% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.4% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.2% | 14.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Sandy since 1979.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 16.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 84% of Oregon’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 15 reported in 2025, 1.1 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
68.3% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 52.5% across Oregon.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Sandy
About 4 of every 100 Sandy residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oregon.
14.4% of the town is conserved land, across 11 parks and preserves.
City in Oregon, United States
Sandy is a city located in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, settled c. 1853 and named after the nearby Sandy River. Located in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range, the city serves as the western gateway to the Mount Hood Corridor, and is located approximately 27 miles (43 km) east of Portland. The city of Sandy was originally settled by travelers passing along Barlow Road, one of the final sections of the Oregon Trail, and initially known as Revenue, after settlers Francis and Lydia Revenue. The city subsequently took the name Sandy after the Sandy River, named by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1805; the river and previously been named the Barings River, after Sir Fra…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Sandy grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #36 of 142 in Oregon. It grades B+ for health, B 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.
