county

Union County, OR

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

AI Overview

Union County, OR is a small rural economy of 26,192 residents with relatively flat population growth of 0.6% over five years. The workforce numbers roughly 59.0% labor force participation, with 24.9% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $35,602, alongside a 5.6% unemployment rate and 15.8% poverty rate. Housing costs remain modest—median home value of $260,500 and median gross rent of $982/month—and a mean commute of 17.2 minutes reflects the county's compact, small-city footprint anchored in La Grande.

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

Population

26,192

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$65,661

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone22,960 (87.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race862 (3.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races788 (3.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone403 (1.5%)
  • Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander Alone391 (1.5%)
  • Asian Alone326 (1.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish502
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island254
  3. 3.Other Indo-European133
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic106
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)92

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

4.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,622

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$40,542

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$34,745

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,910
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,569
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,327
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)1,105
  5. 5.Public Administration (Group)909

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,917
  2. 2.Service Occupations2,540
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations2,295
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,682
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,340

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.67×)683
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.60×)883
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.32×)1,354
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.28×)1,621
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.03×)704

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$260,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$982/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

65.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,150 (16.1%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,021 (14.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999943 (13.2%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999921 (12.9%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999873 (12.2%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999385 (5.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

24.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

59.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,602

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

16.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone8,385 (71.9%)
  • Carpooled1,130 (9.7%)
  • Worked At Home995 (8.5%)
  • Walked742 (6.4%)
  • Other329 (2.8%)
  • Bicycle46 (0.4%)

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.