Per Capita Personal Income in Oregon’s Counties
March 09, 2026In 2024, Oregon had a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $70,908. Oregon’s PCPI was 97% of the national average of $73,204, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In Oregon, the 2024 PCPI increased by 5.0% from 2023, barely faster than the nationwide PCPI growth rate of 4.6%.
Personal income is the sum of three main components: net earnings (wages, salaries, employer contributions); personal current transfer receipts (retirement, Medicare, unemployment insurance); and income from dividends, interest, and rent. PCPI is calculated by dividing the area’s personal income by its total population.
Per capita personal income varies between states and counties. In general, PCPI is higher in the Portland area, the Columbia Gorge, and Central Oregon. Deschutes County had the highest PCPI in 2024 at $87,383, followed by Clackamas ($83,798), Washington ($81,333), Multnomah ($78,415), and Hood River ($73,017) counties.
Areas with lower per capita income tend to have a higher concentration of older residents. As the population ages there are more retirements, meaning more residents who have passed their peak earning years, and therefore contribute less to the net earnings component of PCPI. Remember, PCPI represents income rather than wealth. Older residents may have substantial wealth (e.g. owning a house) but do not have as much relative income, unless it was income-generating investments that would show up in the “dividends, interest, and rent” portion of PCPI.
Counties with lower PCPI tend to have a higher share of income attributed to transfer receipts, primarily government social benefits, such as Social Security (retirement), Medicare (health insurance program for people age 65 or older), Medicaid, and unemployment insurance. The initial impulse is to presume that folks in some counties rely more heavily on government subsidies; however, the story behind the higher transfer receipts is one of age demographics.
| Area | Per Capita Personal Income | Rank Statewide | Net Earnings | Dividends, Interest, and Rent | Transfer Receipts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deschutes | $87,383 | 1 | $47,044 | $24,935 | $15,404 |
| Clackamas | $83,798 | 2 | $51,929 | $19,894 | $11,975 |
| Washington | $81,333 | 3 | $54,640 | $15,485 | $11,208 |
| Multnomah | $78,415 | 4 | $48,667 | $17,091 | $12,657 |
| Hood River | $73,017 | 5 | $39,569 | $20,656 | $12,793 |
| Oregon | $70,908 | $41,108 | $14,854 | $14,946 | |
| Gilliam | $68,964 | 6 | $43,028 | $8,874 | $17,063 |
| Wallowa | $67,931 | 7 | $33,788 | $14,420 | $19,723 |
| Jackson | $65,831 | 8 | $32,874 | $14,721 | $18,236 |
| Lane | $64,946 | 9 | $34,766 | $13,849 | $16,331 |
| Yamhill | $64,886 | 10 | $36,492 | $13,643 | $14,752 |
| Crook | $64,413 | 11 | $31,558 | $13,668 | $19,187 |
| Tillamook | $63,822 | 12 | $27,515 | $17,602 | $18,706 |
| Benton | $63,227 | 13 | $35,559 | $17,415 | $10,253 |
| Clatsop | $62,168 | 14 | $30,840 | $13,910 | $17,418 |
| Lincoln | $62,045 | 15 | $27,716 | $14,656 | $19,672 |
| Coos | $61,776 | 16 | $28,023 | $10,924 | $22,829 |
| Sherman | $61,591 | 17 | $32,928 | $10,087 | $18,576 |
| Columbia | $61,340 | 18 | $36,406 | $8,765 | $16,169 |
| Marion | $60,968 | 19 | $34,224 | $10,184 | $16,560 |
| Linn | $60,722 | 20 | $32,888 | $8,893 | $18,941 |
| Wasco | $60,272 | 21 | $31,943 | $10,710 | $17,620 |
| Curry | $59,145 | 22 | $21,791 | $14,370 | $22,983 |
| Polk | $58,380 | 23 | $32,653 | $11,577 | $14,150 |
| Grant | $57,831 | 24 | $27,058 | $11,041 | $19,732 |
| Josephine | $57,769 | 25 | $24,969 | $10,749 | $22,051 |
| Harney | $56,899 | 26 | $29,390 | $9,061 | $18,447 |
| Baker | $56,448 | 27 | $24,958 | $12,065 | $19,426 |
| Douglas | $56,312 | 28 | $25,514 | $9,796 | $21,002 |
| Union | $56,211 | 29 | $28,610 | $9,314 | $18,287 |
| Umatilla | $55,619 | 30 | $32,313 | $7,464 | $15,842 |
| Klamath | $54,913 | 31 | $26,855 | $8,420 | $19,639 |
| Lake | $52,840 | 32 | $25,325 | $9,589 | $17,925 |
| Morrow | $51,897 | 33 | $34,276 | $5,388 | $12,233 |
| Wheeler | $51,514 | 34 | $22,332 | $9,085 | $20,098 |
| Jefferson | $50,224 | 35 | $22,542 | $8,572 | $19,110 |
| Malheur | $44,201 | 36 | $20,220 | $6,200 | $17,781 |
In rural Oregon, the share of the population that is age 65 and older increased from 25% in 2014 to 29% in 2024. A higher share of retirees means a higher share of transfer receipts. The share of per capita income from transfer receipts was highest in Malheur (40%), Curry (39%), and Wheeler (39%) counties. The lowest share of per capita transfer receipts was in Clackamas and Washington counties, both at 14%.
Income from dividends, interest, and rent was highest in Deschutes (29%), Benton (28%), Hood River (28%), and Tillamook (28%) counties. It was lowest in Morrow (10%), Gilliam (13%), and Umatilla (13%) counties.