Pain is a complex experience that can be difficult to measure. Ensuring pain scales are accurately describing patients' experiences is one critical way to improve patient care. The goal of this study was to evaluate five common pain rating scales based on perceived effectiveness, ease of use, and patient satisfaction. Seventy-five patients age eighteen-years-or-older with any clinical diagnosis causing chronic pain at OHSU's Comprehensive Pain Center participated in a 19-question survey asking participants to rate their experiences using the Numerical Rating Scale, Verbal Rating Scale, Mankoski Pain Scale, Brief Pain Inventory, and the Defense and Veteran Pain Rating Scale. The results of the study show the Numerical Rating Scale and the Verbal Rating Scale were rated as significantly less effective at describing pain and significantly less satisfying than the multidimensional pain scales with survey respondents demonstrating a strong preference for the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale. This data suggests the Numerical Rating Scale and the Verbal Rating Scale may not meet the needs of many people living with chronic pain.