on May 6, 2022
It is known as the Gateway to Oregon’s Wine Country. Where the suburbs of Portland roll into the fertile hills of the Willamette Valley. This city is home to one of the original 1950’s drive in movie theaters, a luxury resort and spa, nationally certified BMX track and skate park, hot air balloon adventures, a champion style public golf course, vineyards, breweries and so much more. Where am I? Newberg, Oregon! Today I answering clients questions about the City of Newberg and what to know before moving here.
Where is Newberg and How Big is it?
Newberg is located 28 miles SE of Portland down the I-5 to 99W corridor. It is a 40 min drive south of Intel in Hillsboro, and 1 1/2 hours from the Oregon Coast. Located in the NW corner of the Willamette Valley, which is home to over 700 wineries and vineyards, Newberg is bordered by the Willamette River and nestled between the Chehalem Mountain, Dundee Hills and Ribbon Ridge AVA’s. Covering 5.8 square miles, Newberg is home to just over 25,000 residents. This makes it the 2nd largest city in Yamhill County.
What Does Employment Look Like in Newberg?
1700 businesses call Newberg home. The top 5 industries being manufacturing, agriculture, health and social services, tourism and education.
A-Dec and CLIMAX, two of the largest and oldest of the 59 manufacturing companies in the city, call Newberg home. A-Dec is a world leading manufacturer of dental operatory equipment . CLIMAX, a leading global manufacturer of portable machining, welding and valve testing.
Providence Newberg Medical Center, a full service acute care hospital, provides employment and services to the community. It is home to a birthing center, cancer institute, brain and spine neurological institute and more. It is also the first Gold LEED certified hospital in the country. LEED being, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. A certification from the U.S. Green Building Council recognizing energy efficient buildings. Nationally recognized by top insurers, the Hazelden Betty Ford‘s residential alcohol and drug addiction treatment center is also in Newberg. The health industry additionally has many clinics and services throughout the town.
With acres of fertile land surrounding the town, the agricultural industry remains very strong.
A tourism destination being in the heart of wine country, employment in hospitality is imperative. Wineries, breweries, farm to table restaurants, boutique AirBnb’s, morning hot air balloon flights and Oregon’s luxury wine country resort, the Allison Inn and Spa easily make this one of the top five industries.
Administrative, financial and services sectors along with family businesses and education are also all throughout the city employing many. Additionally when starting up one’s own business, Newberg’s Economic Development program is a great resource to assist self start up companies.
What Schooling options are available in Newberg?
Newberg’s school district consists of 5 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school in town. It also has a hybrid catalyst secondary option for students that need a more flexible style of learning. Parents also have the option of enrolling their children in one of two virtual online state certified schools. One school is kindergarten through 8th grade classes, the other kindergarten through 12th grade classes. Additionally there are also two private Christian schools in Newberg, both providing full schooling years of kindergarten through 12th.
In looking at tertiary education, Newberg is home to the oldest Christian University of Oregon. George Fox University, founded in 1891, is ranked among the nations top Christian colleges. Home to over 4300 students each year, George Fox offers more than 60 undergraduate Bachelor degrees, 5 accelerated Adult Bachelor programs for working adults to finish their degrees, 13 masters & doctorate degrees and 7 seminary degrees.
FUN FACT:
Before George Fox became a tertiary level school, it’s first 6 years of life was as an academy for primary and secondary level education. It first opened as the Newberg Friends Pacific Academy. President Herbert Hoover, at the age of 11, was one 9 students the 1st year it opened in 1885. He attended the school for 3 years before moving to Salem in 1888.
In addition to the university for higher level education opportunities, Portland Community College also has an extension campus in Newberg. PCC offers both lower division college credit courses and community non-credit courses. Similar to the hospital in care for green sustainability, the Newberg campus building was the first net-zero higher education building in Oregon to be ranked LEED Platinum.
What is the cost of living in Newberg?
I ran a few cost of living comparisons between Newberg and a few cities here in the United States.
Food | Housing | Transportation | Utilities | Health
Many people move from the Portland area to Newberg. Many too, start their search in the Portland area when looking to move to Oregon, then find their search leading them into Yamhill county. Due to this, I ran a cost of living comparison between Portland and Newberg. Cost of living in Newberg is 8% cheaper than living in Portland.
I also ran a few cost of living comparisons to similar wine towns with comparable populations and distances to larger cities. Looking at American Canyon in the Napa Valley outside of San Francisco, Newberg is 23% cheaper. In Kerville, just outside of San Antonio, the cost of living in Newberg is actually almost 27% more. A big portion of that due to the average cost of homes being about $200k in difference between the cities.
Costs of Homes
Housing is one of the biggest factors wherever a person is going to move. Between mid February and mid April 2022, 47% of homes sold in Newberg were between $400,000 and $600,000. In the same window, the median sales price was $529,900.
Taxes
One thing not given consideration in the above figures, are taxes. We all have them. Local, state, income, sales, property… taxes are everywhere. The city of Newberg itself does not have any imposed taxes, but of course all the states do. If we compare those, the state of Oregon is only one of five states that does not have sales tax. Like 42 other states though, we do have income tax. (Which is pretty standard.) When I pull comparisons from wallet hub, rocket mortgage, and taxfoundation.org to get a comparison for the 2021 tax year, Oregon ranks between #23 and #27 of the 50 states. Really not too significant in either direction when you compare our property taxes to the other 49 states of the nation.
What is there to do in Newberg?
In addition to all the things that I’ve mentioned that draw tourists here, that residents definitely enjoy as well (amazing food, craft beer, wine, art galleries, boutique stores, The Allison spa, and Vista Hot Air balloon rides), Newberg is home to two public use Airparks for small aircraft, one of them even offering pilot lessons and plane rentals. If looking for a challenge on the golf course, Chehalem Glen is a public champion style course with a high slope rating. (A course I can tell you I have had my battles with in a few of the blind ravines! lol) The Cultural Center has a fine arts gallery, exhibition hall, art studios, a recording studio and grand ballroom. The Grand Ballroom being host to many events throughout the year. The first Friday of each month is the art wine walk around town. For the whole family, the newly rebuilt Aquatic and Fitness Center has many activities, as does the library. Getting outside, there are many playgrounds around the city. You can find a tennis court, a 29,000 sq foot world class skate park and BMX track, and 11 hiking, biking and equestrian trails around the city.
Newberg also has many traditional things to looks forward throughout the year. The beginning of the year is the Oregon Truffle Fest. In April the Camellia festival. Boat Races at Rogers Landing every memorial weekend. The old fashioned festival in July. Farmers market every Wednesday from May to Sept, and don’t forget double feature movies at the drive in theater in the summer. I know I am missing things, but I am sure this gives you a small feel of life here.
Relocation Guide
If you are thinking about making a move to Newberg or anywhere in Yamhill County, you are more than welcome to download my free Yamhill County Relocation Guide by clicking https://www.leannecray.com/yamhill-county-relocation-guide/ . My Guide includes information and links to not only Newberg, but to all of the nine cities here in Yamhill County, that I help buyers and sellers in.