Communities
Twenty-one communities, two counties
Every town here gets the same treatment: the short version, quick facts with sources, what to check before you buy, and the listings on the ground right now.
The map
Get your bearings
County
Josephine County
River country with room to spread out. The real question is how far from Grants Pass you want to live.
Grants Pass
The county seat, with the Rogue running right past downtown. A Saturday growers market, a walkable historic district, the county's main hospital, and homes from older in-town blocks to river and hillside lots.
Cave Junction
The Illinois Valley's town on the Redwood Highway, about 30 miles southwest of Grants Pass. Wooded acreage, small farms, the Illinois River, and the road to the Oregon Caves.
Merlin
Just north of Grants Pass on the road to Galice, where the Rogue heads into Hellgate Canyon and the Wild and Scenic stretch. Rural lots, river access, and town fifteen minutes away.
Murphy
Just south of Grants Pass on Williams Highway, along the Applegate River. Acreage, room for a shop, and the Applegate wineries down the road, ten minutes from town.
Williams
A rural valley south of Grants Pass along Williams Creek, at the head of the Applegate country. Small farms, vineyards, wooded hills and room to grow your own.
Wilderville
Wooded acreage along Highway 199 west of Grants Pass, near where the Applegate meets the Rogue. Privacy in the trees, a short drive to town, and the road to the coast at your door.
Selma
The north end of the Illinois Valley on Highway 199, with Lake Selmac down the road and the Illinois River backcountry up the next. Wooded acreage, Cave Junction a short drive south.
O'Brien
The south end of the Illinois Valley, a few miles from the California line. Rural land, big timber, and the redwoods and the coast closer than Medford.
Applegate Valley
Small farms, vineyards and river frontage along the Applegate, from Murphy in Josephine County to Ruch in Jackson County. Wine country, with a river running through it.
County
Jackson County
The airport, the hospitals and most of the valley's jobs, with towns strung along I-5 and Highway 62.
Medford
The Rogue Valley's largest city, with the airport, two major hospitals and most of the shopping. The widest range of homes in the valley, from older central neighborhoods to the east hills.
Ashland
The south end of the valley, in the Siskiyou foothills. Home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Southern Oregon University and Lithia Park. Walkable downtown, and prices run higher than the rest of the valley.
Central Point
Just north of Medford off I-5, home of the Jackson County Expo and Rogue Creamery. Newer subdivisions and quick freeway access.
Eagle Point
Northeast of Medford on Highway 62, on the way to the Upper Rogue and Crater Lake. Golf-course neighborhoods in town, acreage outside it.
Jacksonville
The Gold Rush town whose whole downtown is a National Historic Landmark. Home of the Britt Music & Arts Festival, a short drive from Medford and at the door of the Applegate wine country.
Phoenix
On I-5 between Medford and Talent, along Bear Creek. Much of town has rebuilt since the 2020 Almeda Fire, so newer homes sit beside older ones.
Talent
Between Phoenix and Ashland on the Bear Creek Greenway, the paved trail that runs from Ashland to Central Point. A small-town center close to Ashland.
Rogue River
A small city on the river and I-5, between Grants Pass and Gold Hill. An easy drive to either Grants Pass or Medford, with river frontage and rural lots just outside town.
Applegate Valley
Small farms, vineyards and river frontage along the Applegate, from Murphy in Josephine County to Ruch in Jackson County. Wine country, with a river running through it.
Gold Hill
A small river town on I-5 between Grants Pass and Medford, with the Rogue running past downtown and rural land on both sides.
Shady Cove
On the upper Rogue along Highway 62. A river town known for drift boats and salmon and steelhead fishing, about 30 minutes from Medford.
White City
Unincorporated, north of Medford on Highway 62. Home to much of the valley's industry and the VA's Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center, with quick access to Medford and Eagle Point.
Sams Valley
Farm country north of the Rogue near the Table Rocks. Pasture, acreage and open views, about 25 minutes from Medford.