La Grande, OR

Micro Area Profile

26,144 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the La Grande, OR micropolitan area.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 41% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity470th of 835 metro and micro areas measured48
SchoolsTop 18% of 695 metro and micro areas measured75
Growth436th of 834 metro and micro areas measured49
Housing affordability453rd of 835 metro and micro areas measured73
Climate788th of 835 metro and micro areas measured53
Physical resilienceTop 42% of 835 metro and micro areas measured61
Access821st of 835 metro and micro areas measured0
Economic stability449th of 835 metro and micro areas measured48
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.7% and median household income $65,661, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

Public schools test above most of the state: 41% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 18% of published profiles for schools.

Rent takes 27% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.5 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
26,144
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,661
Bottom 46% nationally
Density
13/sq mi
2,036.9 sq mi of land
Median age
40.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Oregon
Nearest major airport
MWH
146 mi · Grant County Intl
Median home value
$294,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.7% — higher than in all but 31% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment grew 0.4% over the past year, to 11,531 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,3262024 ACS 5-Year$65,661Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,3112024 ACS 5-Year$37,171Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.9%Bottom 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year17.5 minTop 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.1%Top 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year71.9%19th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202611,531Bottom 6%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.8%Bottom 43%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.4%Top 27%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202612,0956th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year75.2%Bottom 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%41st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.8%Top 18%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.7%Bottom 31%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.5%48th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.73.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.7% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

41% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 58% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
13
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.2
across 12 of them
Math proficiency
41.2%
Top 18% in Oregon
Reading proficiency
58.0%
Top 18% in Oregon
The 12 largest of 13 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
La Grande High SchoolLa Grande SD 160417.837%82%
La Grande Middle SchoolLa Grande SD 148019.235%49%
Central Elementary SchoolLa Grande SD 140315.547%53%
Imbler Charter School · charterImbler SD 1132514.157%62%
Island City Elementary SchoolLa Grande SD 129315.457%62%
Cove Charter School · charterCove SD 1529015.352%67%
North Powder Charter School · charterNorth Powder SD 8J25211.027%42%
Greenwood Elementary SchoolLa Grande SD 123413.032%37%
Union Elementary SchoolUnion SD 521215.147%47%
Stella Mayfield Elementary SchoolElgin SD 2320411.332%42%
Elgin High SchoolElgin SD 2318015.027%62%
Union High SchoolUnion SD 516618.437%62%

63.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Oregon’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,446 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.83% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,222, some 24% above the $982 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,222 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $48,900 a year, about 74% of the median household income here of $65,661.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $982 a month.

A median home at $294,600 costs 3.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $83,512, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
27.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,222
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$982
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$294,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against La Grande’s median household income of $65,661, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.5Bottom 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year65.5%25th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±342024 ACS 5-Year11,8297th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$980Bottom 37%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,700Bottom 29%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,222Bottom 36%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$472024 ACS 5-Year$982Bottom 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,6242024 ACS 5-Year$294,60074th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1112024 ACS 5-Year$2,44664th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,6612024 ACS 5-Year$83,512Top 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.83%52nd percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.3%Top 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1112024 ACS 5-Year33825th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.9%62nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%18th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1522024 ACS 5-Year9292nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

49/ 100
Ranks 436 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 26,058 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 59 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
59
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.3
Bottom 45% nationally
Year over year
+31%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202426k26k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

2 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 79°F and January a low of 21°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.3 inches, including 113.2 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MEACHAM, 25.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals113.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals21°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals79°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals21991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

61 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are cold wave, inland flooding and wildfire, with cold wave alone responsible for 33% of it. Cold wave and inland flooding are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

WildfireHigh
EarthquakeElevated
LandslideModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, avalanche, winter weather, ice storm, inland flooding, lightning, hail, strong wind, drought, tornado, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

No airport meeting the AreaProfile major-airport definition lies within 100 miles; the nearest is 146 miles away.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year83.7%Bottom 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle146 miBottom 1%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle0Bottom 1%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.7%Bottom 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Grant County IntlMWH146 mi13,503 ft
Boise Air Trml/Gowen FldBOI149 mi10,000 ft
Spokane IntlGEG161 mi8,199 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
55
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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