Lake County, Oregon Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Lake 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 3 least healthy counties in Oregon
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D
Income Well below averageAmong the 5 least wealthy counties in Oregon
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D
Education Well below averageAmong the 5 least educated counties in Oregon
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Lake County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 8,267 | 4,252,306 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 1.0 | 43.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.73% | 0.82% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 45.7 | 40.6 | 37.3 |
| Households | 3,480 | 1,717,698 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Lake County grew by 15.4% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 8,267 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Lake County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 24.1% of residents. That is 6.1 points above Oregon as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 1,325 16.0% -4.7 pts
- Millennials 29–44 1,526 18.5% -4.6 pts
- Gen X 45–60 1,894 22.9% +3.0 pts
- Boomers 61–79 1,995 24.1% +6.1 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 45.9% of the people living in Lake County and men 54.1%.
- Women 45.9% Oregon 50.1%
- Men 54.1% Oregon 49.9%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Lake County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Lake County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Lake County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $61,953 | $83,617 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 7.92% | 5.70% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.1% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Lake County is about 26% lower than in Oregon.
Housing
| Metric | Lake County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $183,451 | $406,603 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $877 | $1,525 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 67.3% | 63.3% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Lake County is about 17.4 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $877 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Lake County spend about 15 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 64 hours, about 2.7 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Lake County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 7.7 | 20.1 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 15.4 | 40.3 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 64 | 168 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $1,984 | $5,203 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 8.4% | 19.0% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,059 | 7,643 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 68 | 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 Lake County is 8 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
Lake County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Lake County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 18.2% | 32.7% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.21 | 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
Lake County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Lake County | Oregon Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 79.2 | 78.8 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 19.3% | 15.8% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 20.4% | 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).
Lake County, OR Compared With Nearby Counties
Lake County, OR is the smallest of the 4 counties compared here, 8,267 residents against a local median of 70,242. Where Lake County, OR breaks from the counties next to it is commute, sitting 55% below the local median of 16.9 min at 7.7 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
Median home price tells the same story from another angle: $183,451 against a local median of $304,477, 40% below it. The picture is mixed rather than uniform: commute runs ahead of the neighbourhood while median household income runs behind it, so Lake County, OR is trading one against the other rather than simply out-performing what surrounds it. The counties themselves sit within 5.6 min of each other on commute, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Lake County, OR, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Lake County, OR has the lowest commute of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, OR | 8,267 | $61,953 #3/4 | $183,451 #4/4 | 7.7 min #1/4 |
| Klamath County, OR | 70,242 | $58,700 | $304,477 | 15.3 min |
| Crook County, OR | 26,277 | $82,119 | $225,004 | 20.9 min |
| Deschutes County, OR | 206,229 | $93,904 | $619,015 | 16.9 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Lake County, Oregon.
What is the population of Lake County, Oregon?
About 8,267 people live in Lake County, Oregon, in 3,480 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 45.7, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 8 years.
How densely populated is Lake County, Oregon?
Averaged over its land area, Lake County, Oregon has 1 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 1% of the U.S. average of 86.
Is Lake County, Oregon an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 3.0 times the median household income ($183,451 against $61,953), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $877 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
Is unemployment high in Lake County, Oregon?
Unemployment in Lake County, Oregon is only 4.1%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.
How common is a college degree in Lake County, Oregon?
18.2% of adults in Lake County, Oregon hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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