//
Cost of living, rent, and safety data — Population 103,390 • 0 community reports
Data last updated
Be the first to contribute. Your grocery prices, rent observations, and safety reports shape the scores residents rely on.
Common questions about living in Bend, OR
Bend's crime numbers hover right around the U.S. average. Violent crime index: 94. Property crime index: 139. The national baseline for both is 100, so you're looking at a city that's neither notably safe nor notably dangerous on paper. In practice, where you live within the city shifts the picture dramatically — a 10-minute drive can mean a completely different experience. Check local crime maps. Source: FBI UCR.
Housing costs in Bend are reasonable. Median rent sits at $1,883/month with median household income at $96,394/year — a 23.4% rent-to-income ratio. That's well within the comfort zone that most financial advisors recommend. It's not dirt cheap, but most working households can afford rent here without financial strain. Other costs like groceries and utilities will vary, but the rent picture is solid. Census ACS 2023 data.
Short. The average commute in Bend clocks in at just 12 minutes, which is well below the national average. 63.5% of workers drive solo, and 24.8% work from home. Short commutes mean more time for everything else — it's one of the quieter advantages of living here.
For most families, yes. Graduation rates run at 90.0% with a 18:1 student-teacher ratio, which is respectable. The best schools in Bend compete with any in the state, though weaker ones pull the city-wide average down. If schools drive your housing decision, focus on specific attendance zones — the right neighborhood makes all the difference.
Everything on this page is built from public government sources: rent and income figures from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS 5-Year Estimates, 2023); commute and transportation data from Census ACS tables B08303 and B08006; crime rates from the FBI Uniform Crime Report; school data from the National Center for Education Statistics. We refresh each dataset monthly through an automated pipeline and cross-check for anomalies. No surveys, no user-submitted guesses — just official federal data presented in a way that's actually useful for people researching a move.
Disclaimer: Data reflects city-wide averages from public sources. Individual neighborhoods, schools, and conditions may differ. Always verify with local agencies before making major decisions.
These calculators pair well with the Bend, OR dashboard.
City scores blend federal baseline data with community reports from residents. The more reports a city has, the more the score reflects current conditions rather than historical averages.
The overall score is a weighted average of four categories:
Confidence tells you how reliable a score is based on report volume and recency:
CityScore = (BaselineWeight × BaselineScore) + (CrowdWeight × CommunityScore)
CrowdWeight grows from 0% to 50% as reports accumulate. Verified reports count double.