Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Stayton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 74th of 142 graded towns in Oregon, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $78K. Expect to pay for it: the typical home is worth about $465K, 5.9 years of the Salem metro’s $79K median household income. Stayton’s trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile, above both the Oregon town median (0.8) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Stayton has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church and David and Maggie Aegerter Barn.
Where Stayton beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oregon), ordered by how far Stayton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 226 in 1880, 8,244 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1896 and 5 maps from 1925 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stayton. Close and well known come first.
29 mi Stadium & arenaReser Stadium
10 mi Theme parkEnchanted Forest
32 mi MuseumEvergreen Aviation & Space Museum
10 mi State parkSilver Falls State Park
39 mi WaterfallWillamette Falls
19 mi MuseumOregon Electric Railway MuseumReser Stadium: Zapper258, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Enchanted Forest: Trashbag (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum: Notkeel at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Silver Falls State Park: Kelvin Kay -- Kkmd at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Willamette Falls: The original uploader was Cacophony at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Oregon Electric Railway Museum: Steve Morgan, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stayton, 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 Stayton.
Stayton trades workers with Salem and other neighbors and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
That puts Stayton close to both Oregon’s towns (4.3%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). 5.7 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Riverfront Park, at 56 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pioneer Park | 0.3 mi | 10 |
| 2. Riverfront Park | 0.2 mi | 56 |
| 3. Community Center Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by North Santiam SD 29J. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Stayton High School, with 669 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stayton Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–8 | Grades 4–8 | 486 | – |
| Stayton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 669 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OR on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 76% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Stayton since 2012.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Stayton has mild winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Stayton’s July high is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Stayton has about as many jobs (3,347) as working residents, but only 555 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Stayton for work: only 16% work in town. Jobs based in Stayton grew to 3,347 in 2023, 204 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Salem (25%), Portland (6%) and Albany (3%).
| Stayton | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 9.5% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 150 to 110 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Oregon, it does better than 63% of towns.
| Stayton | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.5 per 1,000 residents | 15.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Stayton beats the Oregon average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 43% of Stayton adults have obesity.
| Stayton | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 35% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Stayton | OR |
|---|---|---|
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 69.8% | 63.4% |
| More adults with obesity | 42.5% | 33.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Stayton home is worth about $465,000, up 1.2% in a year, 6% below the Oregon typical home.
| Stayton | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,172 a month | $1,415 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 65% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Stayton
About 2 of every 100 Stayton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oregon.
4 places in Stayton on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Stayton.
City in Oregon, United States
Stayton is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States, located 16 miles (26 km) southeast of the state capital, Salem, on Oregon Route 22. It is south of Sublimity and southeast of Aumsville. Located on the North Santiam River, Stayton is a regional agricultural and light manufacturing center. The population was 8,244 at the 2020 census. Established in 1872, it was incorporated in 1891. Stayton is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Stayton grades C overall, better than 27% of U.S. towns and #74 of 142 in Oregon. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within Oregon, it does better than 63% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
3 notable people were born here, including Jay Baller and Terry Schrunk.
