Moving to
Altamont.

All Altamont data Compare Altamont

19,927people live here $58,629median household income▼ 27% below US $1,015median rent per month▼ 28% below US $249,200median home value▼ 25% below US

Altamont is an unincorporated community in Klamath County, OR. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Altamont

Altamont is an unincorporated community in Oregon with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, commutes that run shorter than most cities, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Altamont deals with county unemployment above the national average, household incomes below the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin.

The good

Rent below the national average
Affordable home prices
Short commutes
Average class sizes

The not so good

Above-average unemployment in the county
Below-average household incomes
Air quality concerns
High rent burden for renters
Cold winters
Snowy winters — 52" per year

How Altamont compares

Median household income

Altamont$58,629

Oregon avg$83,011

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Altamont$1,015

Oregon avg$1,525

US$1,413

Median home value

Altamont$249,200

Oregon avg$477,600

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Altamont

Based on Altamont's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,030

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $40,600 a year
52% of Altamont renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$49,840

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $24,920
Homes cost 4.3× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▼ 28% below US

$1,015/mo median rent

Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $1,015 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $249,200. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.

Median home value $249,200 · 52% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

7.2% county unemployment

Unemployment in Klamath County is 7.2%, well above the national average of 4.3%. Moving with a job already lined up matters more here. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Klamath County (county-wide)

Safety

219 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Altamont doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Klamath County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 473/100k · Policed by Klamath County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▼ 43% below US

15 min average commute

Commutes run short here, averaging 14.8 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 9% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

80%

Carpool

8.6%

Work from home

8.5%

Other

2.4%

Public transit

0.5%

Walk

0.5%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 82°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 22°F and snow a regular occurrence. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▼ 39% below US

22% bachelor's degree or higher

College degree attainment runs below average at 22%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.

Schools

6 public schools inside the boundary

There are 6 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 18:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Tule Lake National Monument (29 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Altamont's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are county unemployment above the national average and household incomes below the national average. A year of median rent ($1,015/mo) equals 21% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget and people who want short commutes. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up and anyone who doesn't drive.

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