Polk County, located in Willamette Valley in north-central Oregon, has more than 300,000 residents and a thriving senior community of 40,549 seniors who are 65 or older. Some of the area’s seniors may be among the 65,000 Oregon seniors diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, a number that’s expected to grow by 29.2 percent over the next few years. To care for this growing demographic, there are six memory care facilities located in the county.
Memory care facilities are known as Assisted Living Facilities and Residential Care Facilities in Polk County, and in Oregon as a whole, and are licensed by the Oregon Department of Human Services.
- It rains a lot in Polk County, which might be disappointing to seniors who enjoy spending time outdoors. Although the county gets 61 inches of rain annually, significantly more than the national average of 39 inches, it only gets six inches of snow each year, 20 inches less than the national average of 26.
- Polk County’s cost of living is 114.5, more than 14 points higher than the national average of 100. Seniors can also expect to pay more for transportation and groceries, although healthcare expenses are less than the average at 83. Housing expenses are significantly higher than the U.S. average at 154.6, which might be a concern to families with restrictive budgets hoping to move to the area.
- Polk County has low crime rates which might be good news for safety-cautious seniors and their families. The county has a violent crime rate of 12.1 and a property crime rate of 31.7, both lower than the national averages of 22.7 and 35.4, respectively.
- Polk County has better air quality than other parts of the U.S., which might be of interest to seniors with respiratory issues. Polk County’s air quality has a rank of 65 on a scale where 100 represents the areas with the best air, a full seven points higher than the national average of 58.
Note: Data reported on this page was updated in 2019 and based on the latest 2018 figures.