Sweet Home, Oregon

City in Linn County · population 9,828 (2020 Census)

Median home: $273,300
Household income: $56,927
Jan low / Jul high: 34° / 82°
Snow a year: 0 in
Tornadoes ≤10 mi since 1950: 0
Median age: 42.4

Sweet Home is a city of 9,828 people in Linn County, Oregon. The median home is worth $273,300, below the typical Oregon town ($394,200). It ranks better for first-time buyers than 72% of Oregon towns.

Sweet Home in our rankings:

How Sweet Home ranks

Percentile among Oregon towns with at least 500 people on The Town Files lifestyle rankings. 50 is typical for the state; 90 means better than 90% of Oregon towns.

The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025).

Homes and cost of living

The median home in Sweet Home is worth $273,300, below the typical Oregon town ($394,200). Homes cost about 4.8 times the median household income of $56,927, which is more affordable than 62% of Oregon towns. Median rent is $1,213 a month. 66.9% of households own their home.

Census ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. "Typical town" = median of Oregon towns with 500+ people.

Housing	Sweet Home	Typical Oregon town
Median home value	$273,300	$394,200
Median rent	$1,213	$1,312
Median household income	$56,927	$76,221
Home value ÷ income	4.8×	5.1×
Homeownership	66.9%	71.1%
Median year built	1968	1981
Seasonal / vacation homes	1.1%	—

Who lives in Sweet Home

People	Sweet Home	Typical Oregon town
Median age	42.4	41.7
Age 65 and over	17.0%	20.1%
Under 18	18.6%	—
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.3%	23.2%
Below the poverty line	19.4%	10.8%
Veterans	8.6%	—
Born outside the U.S.	1.2%	—
Work from home	12.8%	12.2%
Average commute	33.3 min	23.2 min
Homes with broadband	90.7%	92.4%

Weather in Sweet Home

July highs average 81.7°F and January lows 34.3°F. About 54.5 inches of rain and melted snow fall a year, with 0.1 inches of snow (typical Oregon town: 3.1 in). Expect about 17 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 55 nights at or below freezing.

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals: average daily high and low by month; precipitation and snowfall in inches. Temperatures from the Foster Dam station (1.6 mi away).

Tornadoes, storms and disasters

NOAA's Storm Events Database has no tornado within 10 miles of Sweet Home since 1950.

Severe weather in Linn County since 1996

NOAA Storm Events Database, Linn County, 1996–2026 (all event types recorded since 1996). 2 deaths recorded.

Linn County has been included in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1953, most often for fire, flood, biological.

Declared	Incident	Declaration
April 7, 2026	Severe Storm	DR-4907: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides
April 13, 2024	Severe Storm	DR-4768: Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Landslides, And Mudslides
May 4, 2021	Severe Storm	DR-4599: Severe Winter Storm
September 15, 2020	Fire	DR-4562: Wildfires And Straight-Line Winds
September 10, 2020	Fire	EM-3542: Wildfires

Jobs and pay in Linn County

Linn County had 48,603 jobs in 2024, paying an average of $57,436 a year. Unemployment was 4.1% in 2023; in Sweet Home itself the ACS puts it at 10.6%.

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024, private-sector jobs and average annual pay.

Annual average unemployment rate (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics via USDA ERS).

Public schools in Sweet Home

7 public schools with 2,297 students, about 18.7 students per teacher.

School	Grades	Students	Per teacher
Sweet Home High School	9-12	726	19.1
Sweet Home Junior High School	7-8	382	18.2
Foster Elementary School	K-6	303	17.8
Oak Heights Elementary School	K-6	300	20.0
Hawthorne Elementary School	K-6	279	17.4
Holley Elementary School	K-6	164	18.2
Sweet Home Charter School (charter)	K-6	143	20.4

Towns near Sweet Home

Lebanon, OR
13.4 mi · 18,447 people · home $336,800
Harrisburg, OR
24.6 mi · 3,652 people · home $320,900
Albany, OR
24.8 mi · 56,472 people · home $389,200
Jefferson, OR
26.3 mi · 3,327 people · home $373,000
Millersburg, OR
26.4 mi · 2,919 people · home $567,200
Springfield, OR
27.9 mi · 61,851 people · home $358,700
Junction City, OR
28.0 mi · 6,787 people · home $421,900
Stayton, OR
28.2 mi · 8,244 people · home $409,700

Sweet Home questions

Is Sweet Home, Oregon a good place to retire?

On The Town Files lifestyle rankings, Sweet Home scores better for retirees than 17% of Oregon towns and quieter than 51%. 17.0% of residents are 65 or older (median age 42.4).

How much does a house cost in Sweet Home?

The median owner-occupied home in Sweet Home is valued at $273,300 (Census ACS 2020–2024), against a median household income of $56,927, so homes cost about 4.8 times income. Median rent is $1,213 a month.

What is the weather like in Sweet Home?

July highs average 81.7°F and January lows 34.3°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). It gets about 54.5 inches of precipitation a year and 0.1 inches of snow.

Does Sweet Home get tornadoes?

No tornado has been recorded within 10 miles of Sweet Home in NOAA's Storm Events Database since 1950.

How this page is made. Every number comes from public data, matched to Sweet Home's Census boundary (GEOID 4171950). Comparisons use the median of Oregon towns with at least 500 people. Weather comes from the nearest NOAA normals station; storm counts use NOAA tornado tracks within 10 miles of the town center.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020–2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census and 2025 Gazetteer (2020 / 2025)
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals (1991–2020)
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (1950–2026)
FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations (this product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API but is not endorsed by FEMA) (1953–2026)
NCES Common Core of Data (2023–24)
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; USDA ERS county unemployment (BLS LAUS) (2000–2024)
The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025)

Data snapshot 2026-11-13.