Hood River Makes Top 10 List For America’s Best Small Towns

Published 5:00 pm Monday, July 21, 2014

Oregon Public Broadcasting

The secret’s out, Oregonians: Hood River is the place to be.

Livability — a website focused on living in small cities — named Hood River as one of the top small towns of 2014. The small Oregon city in the Columbia River Gorge came in No. 4 behind Los Alamos, New Mexico, Northfield, Minnesota, and Lebanon, New Hampshire.

The website notes Hood River’s great outdoor activities, such as strong winds and waves for watersports, all while having a great view of Mount Hood, the Columbia River and the Hood River.

Livability also touts Hood River’s young population and growing tech industries as a draw.

And, hey, if any of you Portlanders are tired of sitting in traffic day after day, Hood River’s average commute is a mere 10 minutes.

Livability ranked towns based on cost of living, health care spending, crime and air quality, to name a few factors. Once the list was narrowed down, editors traveled to the cities for a visual assessment and to ask the locals what they liked about their home.

Other western cities that made the list include Port Angeles, Washington, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Heber City, Utah, and Hailey, Idaho.

This story originally appeared on Oregon Public Broadcasting.

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