Lincoln County, OR

County Profile

50,964 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lincoln County, OR.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

39out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 3% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity1,277th of 1,463 counties measured33
Schools1,366th of 1,377 counties measured5
GrowthTop 46% of 1,453 counties measured52
Housing affordability1,391st of 1,462 counties measured46
ClimateTop 45% of 1,463 counties measured70
Physical resilience1,271st of 1,463 counties measured26
Access1,051st of 1,463 counties measured69
Economic stability1,124th of 1,463 counties measured39
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 6.0% and the Opportunity signal places Lincoln County in the bottom 13%.

In the public schools here, 24% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.4 students for every teacher.

253 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 11% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
50,964
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$63,165
Bottom 45% nationally
Density
52/sq mi
981 sq mi of land
Median age
52.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Lincoln County
Oregon
Micro area
Nearest major airport
EUG
50 mi · Mahlon Sweet Fld
Median home value
$410,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 6.0% — higher than in all but 6% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 1.2% over the past year, to 20,354 employed residents.

29% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 73% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$79,69282nd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$74,07782nd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,9552024 ACS 5-Year$63,165Bottom 45%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,5282024 ACS 5-Year$38,813Top 30%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$58,675Top 41%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year15.6%Bottom 33%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.9 minTop 30%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.6%Top 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year70.6%16th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202620,354Bottom 32%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.8%Bottom 28%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.2%Bottom 37%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202621,64632nd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year69.3%Bottom 24%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%74th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 42%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20266.0%Bottom 6%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.1%84th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.93.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 6.0% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202463k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $63,165 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

24% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.4 students for every full-time teacher across 16 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
23.8%
Bottom 1% in Oregon
Reading proficiency
45.0%
Bottom 4% in Oregon
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Newport High SchoolLincoln County SD66921.6——
Taft High SchoolLincoln County SD53523.317%62%
Taft Elementary SchoolLincoln County SD46420.223%34%
Newport Middle SchoolLincoln County SD42620.332%52%
Sam Case ElementaryLincoln County SD35316.038%49%
Toledo Elementary SchoolLincoln County SD32115.328%40%
Crestview Heights SchoolLincoln County SD26413.217%47%
Yaquina View ElementaryLincoln County SD26414.7——
Oceanlake Elementary SchoolLincoln County SD24616.4——
Taft Middle SchoolLincoln County SD23516.815%22%
Siletz Valley Schools · charterLincoln County SD23512.412%22%
Eddyville Charter School · charterLincoln County SD20612.122%27%

90.3% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Oregon is up 36% over five years, and up 3.0% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,322 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.81% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,480, some 23% above the $1,201 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,480 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $59,200 a year, about 94% of the median household income here of $63,165.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,201 a month.

A median home at $410,800 costs 5.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $74,721, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
30.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,480
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,201
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$410,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lincoln County’s median household income of $63,165, 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 change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Oregon’s figure2026 Q2+3.0%37th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Oregon’s figure2026 Q2+35.6%18th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Oregon’s figure2026 Q2+105.2%69th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year5.5Bottom 2%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year71.5%35th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±652024 ACS 5-Year32,62876th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,128Bottom 31%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,043Bottom 23%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,480Bottom 24%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$522024 ACS 5-Year$1,201Bottom 17%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,7232024 ACS 5-Year$410,80092nd percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1422024 ACS 5-Year$3,32288th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,2082024 ACS 5-Year$74,721Bottom 46%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.81%51st percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year30.5%Bottom 24%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±5462024 ACS 5-Year7,30196th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year22.4%94th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.8%31st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5582024 ACS 5-Year9,51390th percentileof 3,2222024 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

52/ 100
Top 46% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 grown 1% since 2020, reaching 51,212 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 212 units authorized in 2025, 26% below the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Lincoln County gained about 0.8% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $79,692, above the $74,077 of households that moved out.

At 5.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
253
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.0
Top 29% nationally
Year over year
+11%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
53.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202451k51k
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.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
53%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$79,692
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$74,077
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Multnomah County, OR 179 people · 6.2% of arrivals
  2. Marion County, OR 155 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  3. Lane County, OR 137 people · 4.7% of arrivals
  4. Benton County, OR 116 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  5. Washington County, OR 112 people · 3.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Lane County, OR 167 people · 6.4% of departures
  2. Benton County, OR 159 people · 6.1% of departures
  3. Multnomah County, OR 125 people · 4.8% of departures
  4. Linn County, OR 115 people · 4.4% of departures
  5. Marion County, OR 111 people · 4.3% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025317187
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−33%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 64°F and January a low of 39°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 67.3 inches.

30°50°70°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station NEWPORT, 7.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND11.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals67.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals64°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals13°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

26 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and tsunami, with earthquake alone responsible for 52% of it.

EarthquakeHigh
Inland floodingElevated
TsunamiModerate
Coastal floodingModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, ice storm, volcanic activity, wildfire, heat wave, lightning, strong wind, cold wave, drought, tornado, winter weather, hail, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Lincoln County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.4 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 23.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 13.3 per 100,000 residents in Lincoln County.

Homicide
4.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
23.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
13.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
27.5
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Lincoln County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

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.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Mahlon Sweet Fld at 50 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year91.0%Top 20%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle50 miBottom 31%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.9%Top 23%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mahlon Sweet FldEUG50 mi8,009 ft
Portland IntlPDX92 mi11,000 ft
Rogue Valley Intl/MedfordMFR165 mi8,800 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
39
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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)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
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
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
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.

Cities in Lincoln County, OR

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.