Which Oregon counties score best for off-grid living?

Of the 36 Oregon counties we have scored, Marion County scores highest at 83 and Gilliam County lowest at 54. Oregon ranks 46th of 50 overall, at 67 out of 100 (Major concerns). Buildability separates its counties most: 0 to 10 out of 10.

Updated 2026-09-27 · 36 counties · 239 spots of private rural land scored

Major concernsOregon ranks 46th of 50, 67 out of 100, in the Best States ranking: the typical parcel on the state's private rural land, with each scored spot weighted by the land it stands for. On a fresh draw of counties it would rank between #45 and #48. City counties with little private rural land have no page, and any parcel can be scored, free, below.

Every scored county in Oregon, best score first

Find a county36 counties


Marion → 294 people / sq mi	83	18	20	9	13	14	9
Polk → 121 people / sq mi	80	15	20	10	12	14	9
Benton → 145 people / sq mi	77	17	20	8	12	12	8
Clackamas → 226 people / sq mi	77	18	20	8	13	12	6
Columbia → 82 people / sq mi	77	17	19	9	13	12	7
Washington → 827 people / sq mi	77	17	20	8	12	13	7
Clatsop → 50 people / sq mi	76	19	20	6	12	11	8
Yamhill → 152 people / sq mi	76	16	19	9	12	12	8
Klamath → 12 people / sq mi	73	13	17	14	12	8	9
Umatilla → 25 people / sq mi	72	12	19	11	15	9	6
Grant → 2 people / sq mi	71	14	17	13	14	6	7
Malheur → 3 people / sq mi	71	14	14	13	14	7	9
Harney → under 1 person / sq mi	70	13	15	14	14	7	7
Hood River → 46 people / sq mi	70	17	20	10	12	10	1
Jefferson → 14 people / sq mi	70	12	19	13	12	7	7
Linn → 57 people / sq mi	70	16	19	9	13	10	3
Sherman → 2 people / sq mi	70	10	20	12	14	4	10
Union → 13 people / sq mi	70	13	17	11	14	8	7
Lake → 1 people / sq mi	69	11	16	14	14	7	7
Lane → 84 people / sq mi	69	17	19	10	10	10	3
Jackson → 79 people / sq mi	68	15	18	12	11	10	2
Multnomah → 1832 people / sq mi	67	18	20	7	9	10	3
Josephine → 54 people / sq mi	66	17	18	13	8	10	0
Crook → 9 people / sq mi	65	8	17	13	13	7	7
Curry → 14 people / sq mi	65	17	18	9	7	10	4
Wasco → 11 people / sq mi	65	13	18	12	12	6	4
Baker → 6 people / sq mi	64	11	19	11	14	5	4
Lincoln → 52 people / sq mi	64	17	19	8	7	10	3
Morrow → 6 people / sq mi	64	8	17	11	14	6	8
Tillamook → 25 people / sq mi	64	18	20	8	8	10	0
Coos → 40 people / sq mi	63	16	19	11	7	10	0
Wheeler → under 1 person / sq mi	63	10	14	12	14	6	7
Deschutes → 69 people / sq mi	61	8	17	14	12	4	6
Douglas → 22 people / sq mi	61	16	17	10	8	10	0
Wallowa → 2 people / sq mi	61	9	15	12	14	5	6
Gilliam → 2 people / sq mi	54	0	16	12	15	4	7

Score is out of 100: Water 25, Legal 20, Solar 15, Hazard 15, Food 15, Buildability 10. Green cells score 80% or better of their maximum; amber cells under 70%.

Where the good land is

4% of Oregon's private rural land scores Good with caveats or better (80 or more). The strongest counties are Marion, Polk and Benton. The weakest are Gilliam, Deschutes and Douglas. Where the land falls short, it is most often on water (rain, wells and salty or weak wells) and building (slope, septic and land price).

What separates them

Buildability: Sherman County scores 10 of 10, Douglas County 0. Slope, the septic the ground needs, footings, and the county's land price. A steep or soggy lot that fails a septic test is the dealbreaker photos hide.
Water: Clatsop County scores 19 of 25, Gilliam County 0. Drinking, system, and irrigation water, the #1 reason off-grid and homestead plans collapse. A low score means a deep, costly well or hauled water.
Food: Marion County scores 14 of 15, Gilliam County 4. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals.
Solar: Klamath County scores 14 of 15, Clatsop County 6. Year-round solar potential, including the darkest month, and how much energy it takes to heat and cool a house there. Matters most if you're fully off-grid.
Hazard: Umatilla County scores 15 of 15, Coos County 7. Flood, wildfire, seismic, and severe-weather exposure: the risks that raise insurance and build cost or strand a parcel.
Legal: Marion County scores 20 of 20, Wheeler County 14. Whether you can reach the land and live on it: road access, distance to emergency care, internet and cell, and how built up the area is, which decides how many lot-size, livestock, and zoning rules you will meet.

The state's soft spot

Food is Oregon's weakest dimension, at 7 of 15 for the state as a whole. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals. Getting a parcel here off-grid runs $33k to $137k by our estimates across these counties, before the house. The full Oregon row in the Best States ranking has the state-wide spread and how the popular off-grid guides rank it.

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Before you buy in Oregon

The scores read the physical land. Whether you may legally live on it is a separate question, and it changes at the county line: Is it legal to live off-grid in Oregon? covers zoning, building code, septic, and wells for the state, with the counties that opt out. For the reason water carries a quarter of the score, how you get water on off-grid land is the read. And the five-point check is the order to do it in.

Major concernsOregon: 67 of 100, 46th of 50. A good state is not a good parcel. Score the one you are looking at, free, in about a minute.

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