Dallas, Oregon

Area Profile

17,531 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Dallas, in Polk County.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 22% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity2,534th of 4,199 cities measured51
Schools2,992nd of 4,162 cities measured33
GrowthTop 37% of 4,224 cities measured56
Housing affordability3,635th of 4,218 cities measured44
ClimateTop 35% of 4,225 cities measured74
Physical resilience2,818th of 4,226 cities measured43
Access3,864th of 4,226 cities measured66
Economic stability2,750th of 4,226 cities measured49
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.2% and median household income $71,549, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Polk County, OR, which contains Dallas, rather than for Dallas alone.

In the public schools here, 35% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 19.4 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 61 units authorized over the past twelve months, 18% below the prior year.

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
17,531
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$71,549
Top 43% nationally
Density
3,570/sq mi
4.9 sq mi of land
Median age
40.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Oregon
Metro area
Nearest major airport
EUG
55 mi · Mahlon Sweet Fld
Median home value
$389,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Polk County, OR, which contains Dallas, is 5.2% — higher than in all but 19% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Polk County, OR, which contains Dallas, fell 0.2% over the past year, to 44,379 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsPolk County, OR’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$59,75926th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftPolk County, OR’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$58,08321st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$10,8432024 ACS 5-Year$71,549Top 43%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,8912024 ACS 5-Year$39,359Top 34%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year14.1%Bottom 38%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.6 minBottom 36%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year22.9%Top 44%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year69.4%27th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentPolk County, OR’s figureJuly 202644,379Bottom 44%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Polk County, OR’s figureJuly 2026+3.6%Top 10%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Polk County, OR’s figureJuly 2026−0.2%Top 38%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forcePolk County, OR’s figureJuly 202646,82544th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year76.2%Bottom 43%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSalem, OR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$67,920Top 50%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSalem, OR Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$55,310Top 33%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%76th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Polk County, OR’s figureJuly 2026−0.2%Top 44%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment ratePolk County, OR’s figureJuly 20265.2%Bottom 19%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year10.7%63rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202472k61k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $71,549 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.

Largest occupations — Salem, OR

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides7,040$45,200
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,880$34,520
Retail Salespersons4,550$35,760
Registered Nurses4,010$131,750
Stockers and Order Fillers3,950$41,520
Management Analysts3,740$99,090

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Polk County, OR, which contains this city.

35% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 54% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 19.4 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
19.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
34.6%
Bottom 34% in Oregon
Reading proficiency
53.7%
Bottom 40% in Oregon
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Dallas High SchoolDallas SD 294824.942%77%
LaCreole Middle SchoolDallas SD 256919.033%46%
Whitworth Elementary SchoolDallas SD 236717.534%49%
Lyle Elementary SchoolDallas SD 230514.532%32%
Oakdale Heights Elementary SchoolDallas SD 230015.832%32%
Dallas Community Charter · charterDallas SD 225120.917%42%

68.6% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 102.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Salem, OR Metro Area is up 28% over five years, but down 0.2% 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 $2,935 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.75% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,560, some 29% above the $1,209 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,560 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $62,400 a year, about 87% of the median household income here of $71,549.

The typical renter household here spends 41% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,209 a month.

A median home at $389,100 costs 3.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $101,356, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
102.5

Prices here run about 2% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Salem, OR Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
40.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,560
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,209
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$389,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Dallas’s median household income of $71,549, 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
Cost of living indexthe Salem, OR Metro Area’s figure2023102.5Bottom 49%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Salem, OR Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−0.2%6th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Salem, OR Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+27.7%13th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Salem, OR Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+106.9%72nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.62024 ACS 5-Year3.8Bottom 19%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year67.9%34th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3602024 ACS 5-Year6,92291st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,201Top 37%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,159Top 49%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,560Top 44%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$782024 ACS 5-Year$1,209Bottom 31%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,2882024 ACS 5-Year$389,10082nd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1752024 ACS 5-Year$2,93572nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$15,1542024 ACS 5-Year$101,356Top 26%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.75%34th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±11%2024 ACS 5-Year40.5%Bottom 11%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±212024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.2%22nd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1012024 ACS 5-Year15473rd percentileof 32,3302024 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

56/ 100
Top 37% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 2 years of 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 5% since 2020, reaching 17,911 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 61 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Polk County, which contains Dallas, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $59,759, close to the $58,083 of households that moved out.

At 3.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
61
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.5
Top 40% nationally
Year over year
−18%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202418k17k
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 for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
29%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$59,759
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$58,083
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Marion County, OR 2,030 people · 37% of arrivals
  2. Yamhill County, OR 353 people · 6.5% of arrivals
  3. Benton County, OR 218 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  4. Multnomah County, OR 205 people · 3.8% of arrivals
  5. Linn County, OR 187 people · 3.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Marion County, OR 1,939 people · 36% of departures
  2. Yamhill County, OR 377 people · 7.0% of departures
  3. Linn County, OR 257 people · 4.8% of departures
  4. Washington County, OR 203 people · 3.8% of departures
  5. Clackamas County, OR 160 people · 3.0% 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. This is the figure for Polk County, OR. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202513346
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−65%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 36°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.1 inches.

20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SALEM MCNARY FLD, 15.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND7.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals36°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals28°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

43 / 100
Physical resilience

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

EarthquakeElevated
Heat waveElevated
Inland floodingModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
231
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,323
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Dallas's police department reported 231 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,323.

Polk County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.8 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 14.5 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 10.5 per 100,000 residents in Polk County.

Homicide
2.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
15.6
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Dallas’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 the county around Dallas (Polk County) rather than Dallas itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. 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 55 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year86.1%Bottom 35%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle55 miBottom 10%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.4%Bottom 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mahlon Sweet FldEUG55 mi8,009 ft
Portland IntlPDX58 mi11,000 ft
Rogue Valley Intl/MedfordMFR177 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
51
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Other cities in Salem, OR

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
SalemMarion County178,86555Salem vs Dallas
KeizerMarion County39,08253Keizer vs Dallas
WoodburnMarion County27,87552Woodburn vs Dallas
HayesvilleMarion County21,24649
Four CornersMarion County16,27552
MonmouthPolk County11,42853
SilvertonMarion County10,45660
IndependencePolk County10,19948

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Dallas side by side with a similar place.

Dallas vs Four CornersDallas vs Monmouth

Moving to Dallas from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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.

ZIP codes in Dallas

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Dallas with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9733823,419$78,858$424,40050