county

Malheur County, OR

Demographic and economic profile of Malheur County, OR, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Malheur County, Oregon is a rural, agriculture-oriented economy with a population of 31,701 that grew 4.2% over five years, reflecting modest but steady expansion. The workforce of roughly 16,000 active participants carries a low education attainment rate—only 15.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher—with median worker earnings of $30,732 and a 5.0% unemployment rate. Housing costs remain low, with a median home value of $221,300 and median gross rent of $819/month, though a 17.8% poverty rate and per capita income of $23,814 signal constrained household economic capacity.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

31,701

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$54,519

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

36.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+4.2% since 2018

Malheur County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone22,103 (69.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race5,006 (15.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone2,258 (7.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,177 (3.7%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone667 (2.1%)
  • Asian Alone380 (1.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish5,666
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island163
  3. 3.Other Indo-European145
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic50
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)18

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

25.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

7.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,946

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$37,863

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$23,814

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

17.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,370
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,663
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining1,475
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)1,284
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)1,219

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,344
  2. 2.Service Occupations2,410
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,273
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations2,136
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,687

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 8.58×)1,619
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.44×)807
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.38×)1,437
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.22×)1,571
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.10×)301

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$221,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$819/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

63.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,267 (19.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999869 (13.4%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999644 (9.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999539 (8.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999435 (6.7%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999382 (5.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

15.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

83.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

50.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$30,732

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

19.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone8,729 (76.0%)
  • Carpooled1,164 (10.1%)
  • Worked At Home880 (7.7%)
  • Walked506 (4.4%)
  • Other145 (1.3%)
  • Bicycle34 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.