The Dalles, OR

Micro Area Profile

26,552 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the The Dalles, OR micropolitan area.

40out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 5% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity563rd of 835 metro and micro areas measured42
Schools642nd of 695 metro and micro areas measured15
Growth523rd of 834 metro and micro areas measured43
Housing affordability724th of 835 metro and micro areas measured57
ClimateTop 37% of 835 metro and micro areas measured70
Physical resilience796th of 835 metro and micro areas measured13
Access738th of 835 metro and micro areas measured49
Economic stabilityTop 47% of 835 metro and micro areas measured54
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.1% and median household income $64,175, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

In the public schools here, 28% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.0 students for every teacher.

Housing sits below most metro and micro areas measured for affordability: rent takes 28% of renter income and the median home is 4.7 times what its owners earn — each just short of the thresholds that would count as strained, but both toward the costly end.

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
26,552
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$64,175
Bottom 41% nationally
Density
11/sq mi
2,381.1 sq mi of land
Median age
41.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Oregon
Nearest major airport
PDX
75 mi · Portland Intl
Median home value
$367,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.1%, lower than in 53% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 1.0% over the past year, to 16,543 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,0542024 ACS 5-Year$64,175Bottom 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,7062024 ACS 5-Year$38,408Top 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.6%Top 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.2 minTop 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.4%Bottom 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year73.7%26th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202616,543Bottom 16%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.3%Bottom 24%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.0%Bottom 43%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,25616th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.3%Bottom 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%62nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Bottom 38%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.1%Top 47%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.9%43rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.53.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.1% in July 2026. It has been falling for the last 2 months, 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.

28% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 52% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.0 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.0
across 10 of them
Math proficiency
27.9%
Bottom 6% in Oregon
Reading proficiency
52.1%
Bottom 24% in Oregon
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
The Dalles High SchoolNorth Wasco County SD 2179519.917%57%
The Dalles Middle SchoolNorth Wasco County SD 2151317.128%45%
Dry Hollow Elementary SchoolNorth Wasco County SD 2142419.341%50%
Chenowith Elementary SchoolNorth Wasco County SD 2141814.922%38%
Dufur SchoolDufur SD 2935217.637%67%
Colonel Wright Elementary SchoolNorth Wasco County SD 2129116.227%47%
Innovations AcademyNorth Wasco County SD 2123216.6——
Mosier Community School · charterNorth Wasco County SD 2116111.542%62%
South Wasco County Middle/High SchoolSouth Wasco County SD 113817.335%65%
South Wasco County Elementary SchoolSouth Wasco County SD 18013.322%47%
Big Muddy ElementaryJefferson County SD 509J33.0——

91.6% 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 $2,828 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.77% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,600, some 59% above the $1,008 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,600 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $64,000 a year, about equal to the median household income here of $64,175.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,008 a month.

A median home at $367,400 costs 4.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $77,779, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
28.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,600
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,008
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$367,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against The Dalles’s median household income of $64,175, 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 ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year4.7Bottom 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year67.5%35th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±282024 ACS 5-Year12,1987th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,289Bottom 13%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,225Bottom 11%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,600Bottom 14%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$912024 ACS 5-Year$1,008Bottom 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$17,1342024 ACS 5-Year$367,40084th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1282024 ACS 5-Year$2,82874th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,2312024 ACS 5-Year$77,779Bottom 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.77%47th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year28.3%Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1372024 ACS 5-Year68341st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%77th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.8%51st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2362024 ACS 5-Year1,63513th 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

43/ 100
Ranks 523 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, 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 26,507 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 52 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
52
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.0
Bottom 39% nationally
Year over year
+30%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202427k26k
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 rising, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 31°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 13.7 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station THE DALLES MUNI AP, 31.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals13.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

13 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are wildfire, inland flooding and earthquake, with wildfire alone responsible for 51% of it.

WildfireHigh
Volcanic activityModerate
EarthquakeHigh
AvalancheModerate
Inland floodingElevated
Heat waveModerate

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

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

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Portland Intl at 75 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year89.4%Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle75 miBottom 14%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 4%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.7%Top 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Portland IntlPDX75 mi11,000 ft
Mahlon Sweet FldEUG124 mi8,009 ft
Grant County IntlMWH167 mi13,503 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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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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