Malheur County, Oregon

Malheur County population, land area and income

Malheur County had 32,315 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 9,887.7 square miles of land. It ranks 20th of 36 in Oregon by population and 2nd by land area. That works out to 3.3 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Oregon has 46,128 residents; Malheur County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $53,762 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Malheur County's population changed since 2020

Malheur County gained 672 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 2.1%. That ranks 10th of 36 in Oregon for growth. The median Oregon county changed by +0.8%, and the state as a whole by +0.7%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Malheur County recorded 1,659 births and 1,618 deaths, a natural change of +41. Net international migration added +269 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +425. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 425 people.

Where Malheur County is

The Census internal point of Malheur County is at 43.188600, -117.603200. It sits in UTM zone 11N. The map shades Oregon's 36 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Malheur County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Malheur County

3 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Malheur County, 17,283 people together, or 53% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Malheur County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Ontario with 11,957.

Counties bordering Malheur County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 8 neighbors for Malheur County, including 5 across a state line. The most populous is Canyon County, ID, with 266,892 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• ID

  Canyon County, ID

  266,892 people

  54 mi NE

• ID

  Payette County, ID

  27,662 people

  71 mi NE

• NV

  Humboldt County, NV

  17,116 people

  126 mi SSW

• Baker County

  16,750 people

  105 mi N

• ID

  Owyhee County, ID

  12,748 people

  83 mi ESE

• ID

  Washington County, ID

  11,539 people

  96 mi NNE

• Harney County

  7,402 people

  70 mi W

• Grant County

  7,093 people

  114 mi NW

Distance to Salem and the nearest big city

Salem is 295.2 miles WNW of Malheur County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Nampa, ID (population 117,350), 59.0 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Caldwell, ID (population 73,088), 56.9 miles away.

Malheur County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Malheur County is 41045: state code 41 for Oregon plus county code 045. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $53,762.