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Moving to
Santa Clara.
Santa Clara is an unincorporated community in Lane 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 Santa Clara
Santa Clara is an unincorporated community in Oregon with commutes that run shorter than most cities. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Santa Clara deals with rent well above the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.
The good
- Short commutes
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- Air quality concerns
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
How Santa Clara compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Santa Clara
Based on Santa Clara's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,412
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $68,240 a year
- 36% of Santa Clara renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$83,020
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $41,510
- Homes cost 4.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 21% above US
$1,706/mo median rent
Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,706 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices run above average, with a median around $415,100. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $415,100 · 36% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
5.1% county unemployment
Unemployment in Lane County is 5.1%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Lane County (county-wide)
Safety
216 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Santa Clara doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Lane 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 811/100k · Policed by Lane County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 20% below US
21 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 20.9 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 20% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 81°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 35°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 16% below US
30% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 30% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
0 public schools inside the boundary
No public school is located inside the boundary; students attend schools in the surrounding district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Crater Lake National Park (95 miles away).
Bottom line
Santa Clara's strongest point is commutes that run shorter than most cities; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks. A year of median rent ($1,706/mo) equals 23% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (20% of workers here already work from home) and people who want short commutes.
Other places near Santa Clara
All Oregon guides →Moving to Springfield →
8 mi away · pop. 61,499
Rent $1,258/mo · Income $68,761
Compare with Santa Clara →Moving to Cottage Grove →
22 mi away · pop. 10,698
Rent $1,254/mo · Income $80,875
Compare with Santa Clara →Moving to Lebanon →
32 mi away · pop. 19,344
Rent $1,312/mo · Income $63,176
Compare with Santa Clara →Not sure Santa Clara is the one?
Put it side by side with another city.