Oregon:
Population: 3.4 million.
Population Density: 35 per square mile (Rank 9 of JWR’s top 19 states) (The highest density is in the northwest part of the state. It is much lower elsewhere, particular eastern 2/3rds of the state.)
Area: 97,000 square miles (rank 10 of 50).
Average car insurance cost: $704/yr. (rank 35 of 50).
Average home insurance cost: $343/yr. (rank 47 of 50).
Crime Safety Ranking: 18 of 50.
Boston T. Party’s State Firearms Laws Ranking: 65%.
Per capita income: $27,660 (rank 25 of 50).
ACT & SAT Scores Ranking: 10 of 50 (tied with Washington).
Plusses: No sales tax. Very low home insurance rates. (Average of $343 per year. Ranks #47 in the country!) Has a high rating in “education freedom” (ranked #5 of 50), since Oregon has relaxed home schooling laws. Relatively low car insurance rates.
Note: In the late 1970s, the much-respected survival writer Mel Tappan touted southwestern Oregon–particularly the Rogue River Valley–as a survival haven. But that was back when California had a population of only around 20 million people. Today, I’m not sure that southwestern Oregon will have sufficient geographic isolation to be immune from California’s “Golden Horde” in the event of an abrupt TEOTWAWKI. Presently, I recommend the Grande Ronde Valley of eastern Oregon. I will have more on specifically recommended Oregon locales in subsequent posts.
Minuses: High property taxes. Creeping Californication. Second lowest church attendance rate in the country. Restrictive zoning and expensive building permits in many western counties. Private party gun sales at gun shows were recently banned. All transactions involving modern (post-1898) gun at gun shows must now be processed through a FFL-licensed dealer, with the requisite paperwork. Sadly, since gun shows are the best place to find a decent selection of used guns, and since many metropolitan newspapers now refuse to run gun ads in their classified sections, I consider this change in the Oregon law a significant hit against firearms freedom.
Parts of the state are recommended, (with reservations).
Note: I probably should have given Oregon a lower ranking, due to its mediocre gun and tax laws. However, its favorable climate and long growing season pushed it up the list slightly. JWR’s Combined Retreat Potential Ranking: 3 of 19.
State By State – Oregon
