Bend, OR — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Oregon·Bend

Deschutes County · Bend · population 106,926

Bend, OR
Image: Wikipedia · Bend, Oregon
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
57
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Bend stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $735,193
1-year -2.5%
5-yr CAGR +3.3%
vs 5-yr peak -8.7%
Population +1.9%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$735k$356k$516k$677k$838k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
40/100
Car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
75/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$2,237/mo$1,779$2,075$2,371202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent117118100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 27.4
Rent

At a 27.4 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Bend for most shorter holds. The premium you pay to own would take many years of rent savings to recoup, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and opportunity cost on the down payment.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
37 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
55 · w22%
Distance from peak
49 · w18%
Population growth
78 · w16%
Rent YoY
70 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
73 · w10%
Long thesis

Bend has held up across the cycle: home values at $735,193 with +3.3% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Bend is a West Coast market off recent highs, and the regional fundamentals (taxes, regulation, out-migration) are still working against it. The bear case isn't that prices go to zero — it's that they don't recover meaningfully for years.

About Bend

Bend is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, with an estimated population of 106,926. The population grew 1.9% annually from 2020 to 2024, a moderate gain. The median home value in Bend is $735,193 as of 2026-04, down 2.5% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.3% annual growth (-8.7% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Bend average $2,237 per month, up 3.7% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 57 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Net positive migration: population up 1.9% per year — demand fundamentals are intact.
○The data is the data: Bend has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Expensive AND not growing: median home $735,193 with only -2.5% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●Cooling: -2.5% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.

About Bend (Wikipedia)

Bend is a city in central Oregon and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is located to the east of the Cascade Range, on the Deschutes River.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

Area35.046 sq mi
Elevation3642 ft
PlattedMay 28, 1904
MottoBend: Living at Its Best
Density2981.0/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Things to see in Bend(Attractions)

  • Hayden Homes Amphitheater
  • Old Mill District
  • Pine Tavern
  • Tower Theatre
  • Old St. Francis School
  • Blockbuster (Bend, Oregon)

Extracted from the Wikipedia article. Names linked in the source — open the city’s Wikipedia page for details.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Deschutes County right now.

NWS active alerts (OR)Oregon Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Deschutes County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Bend

13 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Awbrey Butte$1,180,674-3.3%
2Summit West$1,106,539-4.0%
3Century West$1,064,142-2.8%
4River West$898,934+0.8%
5Old bend$872,167-2.7%
6Southern Crossing$775,511-3.3%
7Southwest Bend$721,208-2.0%
8Southeast Bend$683,106-1.1%
9Old Farm District$631,781-3.5%
10Boyd Acres$600,366-2.8%
11Orchard District$594,895-1.2%
12Larkspur$567,949-2.5%
13Mountain View$554,169-2.8%

Cities like Bend

Tigard, OR51 · StableHillsboro, OR48 · StableBeaverton, OR47 · CoolingNewberg, OR59 · Stable

Run the numbers for Bend

ToolCan I afford Bend?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Bend rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Bend to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolBend cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
47° / 35°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
82° / 53°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
178
~49% of year
Annual precip
28″ rain
12″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
High
Earthquake
High
Flood
Low

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Bend listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Bend area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
75%
Very humid climate
Median household income
$80,400
Oregon state median
Top industries (state-level)
Tech (Intel)ManufacturingForestry

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

Cities similar to Bend

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