Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,934, settled in 1888. 92% more nonprofits per person than the typical Oregon town.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Sisters grades B+ overall, ranked 17th of 142 in Oregon. It is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. Its schools outperform 88% of the state's and residents are healthier than 87% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $776K for a typical one and 8.6 times the Bend metro’s $90K median household income. 27% of working residents work locally in Sisters, against 9.5% in Oregon’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Sisters's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 98% of U.S. towns. Only 2 of the 115 Oregon towns we compare have a higher typical home value than Sisters.
Where Sisters beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Sisters Elementary School | K–5 | 491 |
| Sisters Middle School | 6–8 | 260 |
| Sisters High School | 9–12 | 419 |
2,038 counted in 2010 and 3,064 in 2020; an estimated 2,934 in 2025.
Since 2020 the trend has turned: down 4.2%, after 50.3% growth 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 Sisters is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 723 in 1950, 3,064 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sisters, 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 Sisters.
Sisters draws workers from Bend and beyond and has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
1,899 jobs are based in Sisters, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 1,339 in 2013 to 1,899.
About one in 4 of Sisters’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Sisters is 18 minutes. Jobs based in Sisters grew to 1,899 in 2023, 560 more than in 2013.
| Sisters | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.7% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $776K.
Its public schools are run by Sisters SD 6. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Sisters High School, with 419 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sisters Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 491 | A− |
| Sisters High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 419 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OR on state tests and graduation
At 8.6 years of the Bend metro’s $90K median household income, the typical home (about $776K) costs more against local pay than in 98% of Oregon towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The typical Sisters home is worth about $776,000, down 2.1% in a year, 58% above the Oregon typical home.
| Sisters | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 73% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,350 a month | $1,415 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
People 65 and older are 39% of residents (19% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 8% of residents (23% statewide). Sisters’ median age is 49.6 years. Sisters has lost 4.2% of its people since 2020, down to 2,934 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Sisters | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.6 years | 39.3 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 27% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 21% | 22% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.5 points. Across Oregon, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Sisters | OR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.9% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.5% | 9.6% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 1.4% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.5% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.2% | 14.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 7% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 31.1% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.8% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.8% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.7% | 22.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.3% | 23.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.1% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.3% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.8% | 14.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,900, single groups can be off by several points
The nearest emergency room, St. Charles Medical Center - Bend, is 20.9 miles away in a straight line.
25% of Sisters adults sleep under 7 hours. Sisters beats the Oregon average on 10 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 16% of Sisters adults get no exercise outside work.
| Sisters | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 21% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Sisters | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 8.5% |
| Fewer adults with obesity | 26.5% | 33.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2.3 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Sisters | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.9% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. East Portal | — | 8 |
| 2. Village Green City Park | — | 1 |
| 3. Cliff Clemens Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 75% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Bend weather station, 21 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 105 days, shorter than in 100% of U.S. towns. January nights average 24.8°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 83% of Oregon places with climate records; July afternoons average 84.6°.
Sisters has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. About 22 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Sisters | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 25°F | 36°F | 22°F |
| July high | 85°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sisters. Close and well known come first.
17 mi MountainThree Sisters
21 mi State parkSmith Rock State Park22 mi Ski areaMt. Bachelor128 runs · 3,233 ft vertical
18 mi Ski areaHoodoo Ski Area47 runs · 1,002 ft vertical
16 mi MuseumPetersen Rock Garden
25 mi MuseumHigh Desert Museum150K visitors a yearThree Sisters: USGS photo by Lyn Topinka, Public domain · Smith Rock State Park: Max Schwarz, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Hoodoo Ski Area: Rvannatta, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Petersen Rock Garden: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · High Desert Museum: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Sisters; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Sisters residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oregon.
Where Sisters’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Oregon, United States
Sisters is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,064 at the 2020 census. The community takes its name from the nearby Three Sisters mountains.
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. Sisters grades B+ overall, better than 75% of U.S. towns and #17 of 142 in Oregon. It grades A for health 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.
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