Union County, OR

County Profile

26,144 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Union 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.

59out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 38% of 1,225 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 50% of 1,255 counties56
SchoolsTop 31% of 973 counties66
GrowthTop 42% of 1,226 counties55
Housing affordability903rd of 1,255 counties83
Climate1191st of 1,254 counties53
Physical resilienceTop 46% of 1,255 counties65
Access1241st of 1,255 counties0
Economic stability804th of 1,255 counties52
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.0% and median household income $65,661, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published profiles.

In the public schools here, 36% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.2 students for every teacher.

The nearest major airport is 146 miles away, which is farther than most measured US locations.

At a glance

Population
26,144
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,661
Top 49% nationally
Density
13/sq mi
2036.9 sq mi of land
Median age
40.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Union County
Oregon
Metro area
La Grande, OR
Nearest major airport
MWH
146 mi · Grant County Intl
Median home value
$294,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.0% is lower than 22% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment grew 2.2% over the past year, to 11,651 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,326$65,661Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,311$37,171Top 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate16.1%Top 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute17.5 minBottom 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher26.1%Top 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment11,651Bottom 7%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.6%Top 34%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)2.2%Top 5%June 2026
Labor force12,262Bottom 7%June 2026
Labor force participation59.2%Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.6%Bottom 13%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.0%Top 22%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.53.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.0% in June 2026. 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
202120222023202466k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $65,661 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.

36% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 41% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

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

Public schools
13
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
35.9%
Top 20% in Oregon
Reading proficiency
41.1%
Top 40% in Oregon
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
La Grande High SchoolLa Grande SD 160417.8
La Grande Middle SchoolLa Grande SD 148019.222%
Central Elementary SchoolLa Grande SD 140315.535%42%
Imbler Charter School · charterImbler SD 1132514.170%30%
Island City Elementary SchoolLa Grande SD 129315.425%65%
Cove Charter School · charterCove SD 1529015.350%50%
North Powder Charter School · charterNorth Powder SD 8J25211.0
Greenwood Elementary SchoolLa Grande SD 123413.015%35%
Union Elementary SchoolUnion SD 521215.130%30%
Stella Mayfield Elementary SchoolElgin SD 2320411.350%30%
Elgin High SchoolElgin SD 2318015.0
Union High SchoolUnion SD 516618.430%

63.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Oregon’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $982 takes 18% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$982
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$294,600
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.49Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate65.5%Bottom 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3411,829Bottom 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$47$982Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,624$294,600Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.9%Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate7.9%Bottom 18%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
55/ 100
Top 42% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2022 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.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are 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 locations.

Units permitted
59
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.3
Bottom 39% 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.
Housing units permitted per year
20222023202420255038
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+16%).

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.

Air quality measures a median index of 23, in the Good band, and about 2 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

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
90th percentile air quality index59.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation37.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall113.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low21°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high79°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months21991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10022024 calendar year
Median air quality index23.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing32°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
23
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
59
90th percentile index
Days above 100
2
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

65 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are wildfire, earthquake and heat wave.

WildfireHigh
EarthquakeElevated
LandslideModerate
Heat waveModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Union County records 3.1 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 20.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.0 per 100,000 residents in Union County.

Homicide
3.1
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
20.9
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
16.0
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
25.2
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Union County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Union County rather than Union County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

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

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
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

Cities in Union County, OR