Wasco County, Oregon

Wasco County population, land area and income

Wasco County had 26,507 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 2,381.1 square miles of land. It ranks 23rd of 36 in Oregon by population and 14th by land area. That works out to 11.1 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; Wasco County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $65,701 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Wasco County's population changed since 2020

Wasco County lost 103 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.4%. That ranks 25th 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, Wasco County recorded 1,147 births and 1,611 deaths, a natural change of -464. Net international migration added +119 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +196. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 464 people.

Where Wasco County is

The Census internal point of Wasco County is at 45.164500, -121.165100. It sits in UTM zone 10N. The map shades Oregon's 36 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Wasco County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Wasco County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Wasco County, 15,884 people together, or 60% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Wasco County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is The Dalles with 15,884.

Counties bordering Wasco County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 8 neighbors for Wasco County, including 1 across a state line. The most populous is Clackamas County, OR, with 425,857 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Clackamas County

  425,857 people

  50 mi W

• Marion County

  352,867 people

  71 mi WSW

• Jefferson County

  25,536 people

  36 mi S

• WA

  Klickitat County, WA

  24,124 people

  52 mi NNE

• Hood River County

  23,764 people

  34 mi NW

• Sherman County

  2,002 people

  29 mi NE

• Gilliam County

  1,971 people

  46 mi ENE

• Wheeler County

  1,456 people

  63 mi ESE

Distance to Salem and the nearest big city

Salem is 92.4 miles W of Wasco County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Gresham, OR (population 111,507), 66.2 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is The Dalles, OR (population 15,884), 30.0 miles away.

Wasco County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Wasco County is 41065: state code 41 for Oregon plus county code 065. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $65,701.