Moving to
St. Helens.

All St. Helens data Compare St. Helens

14,258people live here $82,865median household incomeNear US average $1,413median rent per monthNear US average $394,200median home value▲ 18% above US

What it's like to live in St. Helens

St. Helens is a small city in Oregon with air quality that stays clean most of the year.

Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next. The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly.

The good

Clean air

The not so good

Above-average unemployment in the county
Above-average commute times
Low college degree attainment
High student-teacher ratio
High rent burden for renters
Car-dependent — few commuters use transit

How St. Helens compares

Median household income

St. Helens$82,865

Oregon avg$83,011

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

St. Helens$1,413

Oregon avg$1,525

US$1,413

Median home value

St. Helens$394,200

Oregon avg$477,600

US$332,700

What it takes to move to St. Helens

Based on St. Helens's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,826

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

Income to keep rent under 30%: $56,520 a year
53% of St. Helens renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$78,840

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $39,420
Homes cost 4.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of livingNear US average

$1,413/mo median rent

Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,413 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $394,200. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $394,200 · 53% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

6.0% county unemployment

Unemployment in Columbia County is 6.0%, 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.

Columbia County (county-wide)

Safety▼ 13% below US

288 violent crimes per 100k

Crime runs about typical for a city this size. Some neighborhoods are safer than others, and one overall rate doesn't tell the whole story, so a neighborhood-level look matters more than the headline stat.

Property crime 973/100k · St. Helens Police Department · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 17% above US

30 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 30.3 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 13% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

64%

Carpool

20%

Work from home

13%

Walk

2.2%

Other

0.4%

Public transit

0.1%

Climate

Summers are comfortable, with highs around 79°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 34°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▼ 53% below US

17% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.

Schools

6 public schools inside the boundary

There are 6 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 19:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (18 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

St. Helens's strongest point is air quality that stays clean most of the year; the main tradeoffs are county unemployment above the national average and commute times longer than most cities. A year of median rent ($1,413/mo) equals 20% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up and anyone who doesn't drive.

See all the data for St. Helens →·All Oregon cities →