Per Capita Personal Income in Central Oregon

November 5, 2024

Using the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimates of per capita personal income (PCPI) by county, we can compare Central Oregon counties to each other, the state, and the nation. Personal income data is not among the most current economic indicators; the “new” county estimates are for 2022. Despite the time lag in producing personal income data, they are still valuable for evaluating a county’s economic health.

Personal income data includes wage and salary income, but it also includes other sources of income. One other source of income is transfer payments from the government. Transfer payments include social security income, food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid, welfare income, and student grants and loans received from the government. Personal income also includes interest, dividends, and capital gains that people receive. Farm income is another component captured in personal income data.

Deschutes County has the highest per capita income level of the Central Oregon counties at $71,627, outpacing the state and the nation. Crook ($51,931) and Jefferson ($43,354) counties lag behind Oregon ($62,303) and the United States ($65,470) significantly.

Crook and Deschutes counties experienced a gain in PCPI of 0.1% and 2.1%, respectively, from 2021 to 2022, while Jefferson County experienced a 0.9% loss. Deschutes County PCPI grew faster than Oregon’s growth of 1.1% and half a percentage point faster than the U.S. growth of 1.6%.

The long-term trend in PCPI is captured by looking at the annual average percent change from 2001 to 2022. Over that time, both Crook (4.3%) and Deschutes (4.5%) counties grew faster than Oregon’s growth of 3.8% and the nation (3.6%). Jefferson County grew at 3.5% per year during this period.