Bend composite
46.8 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Bend vs Eugene
Bend, OR and Eugene-Springfield, OR side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 46.8
- Bend Life Score
- C+
- Bend grade
- 45.4
- Eugene Life Score
- C
- Eugene grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Bend scores higher on 3 (rent, safety, childcare) and Eugene on 4 (cost of living, wages, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Bend Eugene ◗
cost of living
10
16
wages
74
75
rent
40
21
safety
51
50
schools
75
76
childcare
26
25
environment
64
65
Bend and Eugene differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Bend has a cost-of-living index of 103.6 vs Eugene's 101.6 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $69,802 in Bend and $70,223 in Eugene. A 2-bedroom averages $1,385/mo vs $1,688/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Bend vs Eugene Comparison
Bend (OR) and Eugene (OR) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 103.6 for Bend against 101.6 for Eugene, a 2.0-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,385/mo in Bend and $1,688/mo in Eugene, a $303/mo difference that compounds to $3,636 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $69,802 across 102,030 jobs in Bend against $70,223 across 150,180 jobs in Eugene. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Bend carries the same local purchasing power as $98,032 in Eugene - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 334.6 per 100,000 residents in OR vs 334.6 in OR, with property-crime rates of 2409.8 and 2409.8 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: OR lists 1,277 public schools at a 17.6:1 student-teacher ratio, while OR lists 1,277 schools at 17.6:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $12,639/yr in the Bend area versus $12,639/yr in Eugene - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Bend and Eugene are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Eugene composite
45.4 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
2.0 pts
Bend vs Eugene BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$303 /mo
Eugene priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Bend
Bend composite (Grade C+)
Eugene
Eugene composite (Grade C)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Bend | Eugene |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 103.6 | 101.6 |
| Goods | 105.3 | 105.3 |
| Services | 105.0 | 102.5 |
| Rents | 110.0 | 98.3 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Eugene gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Bend?
$
Equivalent in Eugene:
$98,032
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Bend: 103.6, Eugene: 101.6, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Bend | Eugene |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,049/mo | $1,223/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,056/mo | $1,286/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,385/mo | $1,688/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,926/mo | $2,348/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,323/mo | $2,832/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Bend | Eugene |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $69,802 | $70,223 |
| Total Employment | 102,030 | 150,180 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Bend (OR) | Eugene (OR) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 334.6 | 334.6 |
| Property Crime | 2409.8 | 2409.8 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,277 | 1,277 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 17.6:1 | 17.6:1 |
| Charter Schools | 10.1% | 10.1% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $12,639/yr | $12,639/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $11,605/yr | $11,605/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $9,385/yr | $9,385/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 335 | 335 |
| Water Systems | 943 | 943 |
| Superfund Sites | 21 | 21 |
| Water Violations | 2,683 | 2,683 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Bend | Eugene |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 23.0 | 46.0 |
| Good Air Days | 89.3% | 56.4% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 3 days | 6 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 2/100 | 2/100 |
| Total Violations | 206,659 | 206,659 |
| Health-Based Violations | 20,339 | 20,339 |
| Systems with Violations | 98.5% | 98.5% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 75/100 | 75/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 25.4% | 25.4% |
| HPSA Designations | 412 | 412 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 45/100 | 45/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 63.4 | 63.4 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 63.5 | 63.5 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bend more expensive than Eugene? ▼
Bend has a cost of living index of 103.6 compared to Eugene's 101.6 (national average = 100). Bend is 2.0 points above Eugene on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Bend and Eugene? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,385/mo in Bend vs $1,688/mo in Eugene, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,049/mo to $1,223/mo.
How do salaries compare between Bend and Eugene? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $69,802 in Bend and $70,223 in Eugene, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Bend has the same purchasing power as $98,032 in Eugene.
Is Bend or Eugene safer? ▼
At the state level, OR has a violent crime rate of 334.6 per 100,000 residents compared to OR's 334.6 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 2409.8 vs 2409.8 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Bend and Eugene? ▼
OR has 1,277 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.6:1, while OR has 1,277 schools at 17.6:1. Charter schools make up 10.1% of OR schools vs 10.1% in OR. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare