Deschutes County, Oregon Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Deschutes County, OR Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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B
Health Around averageAmong the top 5 healthiest counties in Oregon
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B
Income Around averageAmong the top 5 wealthiest counties in Oregon
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B
Education Around averageAmong the top 5 best educated counties in Oregon
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Deschutes County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 206,229 | 4,252,306 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 67.5 | 43.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 2.39% | 0.82% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 40.7 | 40.6 | 37.3 |
| Households | 84,894 | 1,717,698 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Deschutes County grew by 35.8% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 206,229 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Deschutes County is Millennials, aged 29–44, at 21.8% of residents. That is 1.2 points below Oregon as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 37,340 18.1% -2.6 pts
- Millennials 29–44 45,039 21.8% -1.2 pts
- Gen X 45–60 44,590 21.6% +1.7 pts
- Boomers 61–79 41,086 19.9% +1.9 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Oregon, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 50.2% of the people living in Deschutes County and men 49.8%.
- Women 50.2% Oregon 50.1%
- Men 49.8% Oregon 49.9%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Deschutes County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Deschutes County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.
| Metric | Deschutes County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $93,904 | $83,617 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 7.08% | 5.70% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.4% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Deschutes County is about 12% higher than in Oregon.
Housing
| Metric | Deschutes County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $619,015 | $406,603 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,787 | $1,525 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 70.0% | 63.3% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Deschutes County is about 28.9 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,787 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Deschutes County spend about 34 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 141 hours, about 5.9 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Deschutes County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 16.9 | 20.1 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 33.9 | 40.3 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 141 | 168 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,375 | $5,203 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 22.6% | 19.0% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 5,644 | 7,643 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,420 | 967 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Oregon:
Lake County (7.7 min), Harney County (8.6 min), Baker County (8.9 min).
Slowest:
Columbia County (31.7 min), Clackamas County (23.9 min), Polk County (22.2 min).
The average commute time in Deschutes County is 17 minutes, shorter than the 20 minutes in Oregon.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Deschutes County has a education index of B, which means it is quite educated.
| Metric | Deschutes County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 38.2% | 32.7% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.41 | 2.41 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Oregon:
Benton County (0.4), Multnomah County (0.4), Washington County (0.4).
Lowest:
Morrow County (0.2), Malheur County (0.2), Gilliam County (0.2).
Health
Deschutes County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Deschutes County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 80.0 | 78.8 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 12.9% | 15.8% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 14.6% | 17.0% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Oregon:
Benton County (0.8), Washington County (0.8), Clackamas County (0.8).
Lowest:
Josephine County (0.8), Malheur County (0.8), Lake County (0.8).
Deschutes County, OR Compared With Nearby Counties
Deschutes County, OR is the largest of the 5 counties compared here, 206,229 residents against a local median of 26,415. The measure that sets Deschutes County, OR apart most is median home price: $619,015, 108% above the local median of $297,238.
Median household income tells the same story from another angle: $93,904 against a local median of $70,081, 34% above it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is median household income, and at 34% above the local median it puts Deschutes County, OR at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves sit within $108,684 of each other on median home price, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Deschutes County, OR, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Deschutes County, OR has the highest median home price of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deschutes County, OR | 206,229 | $93,904 #1/5 | $619,015 #1/5 | 16.9 min #3/5 |
| Jefferson County, OR | 25,203 | $76,058 | $289,999 | 20.2 min |
| Crook County, OR | 26,277 | $82,119 | $225,004 | 20.9 min |
| Wasco County, OR | 26,553 | $64,105 | $333,688 | 13.1 min |
| Klamath County, OR | 70,242 | $58,700 | $304,477 | 15.3 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Deschutes County, Oregon.
What is the population of Deschutes County, Oregon?
About 206,229 people live in Deschutes County, Oregon, in 84,894 households of 2.4 people on average. The median age is 40.7, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 3 years.
Is Deschutes County, Oregon urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Deschutes County, Oregon has 68 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is close to the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Deschutes County, Oregon?
The median home costs 6.6 times the median household income ($619,015 against $93,904), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $1,787 a month takes about 23% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
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