Like all states, Oregon has certain places that are going on hard times. These Oregon places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Oregon.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 79 cities in Oregon with more than 5,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In Oregon For 2025:
What’s the poorest city in Oregon? According to the facts, Klamath Falls is the poorest place in Oregon for 2025.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Oregon reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Oregon
- Cheapest Places To Live In Oregon
- Most Dangerous Cities In Oregon
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In Oregon For 2025
1. Klamath Falls
/10
Population: 21,879
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $47,268 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 23.2% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 5,080
More on Klamath Falls: Data
Klamath Falls, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Oregon thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 21,879 people averages the 3rd lowest median household income in Oregon and the 2nd highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Ontario
/10
Population: 11,728
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Income: $43,887 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.2% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,257
More on Ontario: Data
The second poorest city in Oregon is Ontario.
The city ranks as having the 7th highest incidence of poverty and lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 44th highest in the Beaver State.
3. Seaside
/10
Population: 7,210
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 5)
Median Income: $45,807 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 18.5% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,334
More on Seaside: Data
Placing as the third poorest city, Seaside’s median income ranks as the 2nd lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 18.51% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Beaver State.
4. Roseburg
/10
Population: 23,773
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $52,928 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.9% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 5,196
More on Roseburg: Data
Roseburg ranks as the fourth poorest place in Oregon.
The town ranks as having the 7th lowest median household income and the 3rd highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Winston
/10
Population: 5,663
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 10)
Median Income: $53,125 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 20.1% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,140
More on Winston: Data
The fifth poorest city in Oregon is Winston.
The city ranks as having the 8th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 6th highest in Oregon.
Still not the best news for Winston.
6. La Grande
/10
Population: 13,059
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 2)
Median Income: $56,409 (12th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.4% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,793
More on La Grande: Data
La Grande ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Beaver State.
It ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and the 17th highest unemployment rate.
7. Umatilla
/10
Population: 7,531
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 5)
Median Income: $59,861 (20th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.5% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,619
More on Umatilla: Data
Umatilla places as the seventh poorest city in Oregon.
The city of over 7,531 ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Corvallis
/10
Population: 60,424
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 2)
Median Income: $63,807 (23rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 25.9% (highest)
People In Poverty: 15,667
More on Corvallis: Data
Corvallis ranks as the eighth poorest city in Oregon.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. Milton-Freewater
/10
Population: 7,096
Rank Last Year: 23 (Up 14)
Median Income: $47,440 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 15.2% (2highest)
People In Poverty: 1,080
More on Milton-Freewater: Data
Milton-Freewater couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Oregon; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 4th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Milton-Freewater ranks as having the 2most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Oregon.
10. Newport
/10
Population: 10,393
Rank Last Year: 19 (Up 9)
Median Income: $57,213 (16th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.2% (11th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,790
More on Newport: Data
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Oregon is Newport.
The city of 10,393 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Beaver State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Oregon for 2025
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2019-2023 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 79 places with more than 5,000 people in Oregon, we ranked each place from 1 to 79 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Klamath Falls, crowned the “Poorest Place In Oregon For 2025”.
This report has been updated for 2025, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Oregon.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Oregon For 2025
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Oregon, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Oregon.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Oregon, according to data:
-
Richest: Lake Oswego
2nd Richest: West Linn
3rd Richest: Sherwood
For more Oregon reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Oregon
- Safest Places In Oregon
- Worst Places To Live In Oregon
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Oregon
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Oregon
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Klamath Falls | 21,879 | 23.2% | $47,268 | 5,080 |
| 2 | Ontario | 11,728 | 19.2% | $43,887 | 2,257 |
| 3 | Seaside | 7,210 | 18.5% | $45,807 | 1,334 |
| 4 | Roseburg | 23,773 | 21.9% | $52,928 | 5,196 |
| 5 | Winston | 5,663 | 20.1% | $53,125 | 1,140 |
| 6 | La Grande | 13,059 | 21.4% | $56,409 | 2,793 |
| 7 | Umatilla | 7,531 | 21.5% | $59,861 | 1,619 |
| 8 | Corvallis | 60,424 | 25.9% | $63,807 | 15,667 |
| 9 | Milton-Freewater | 7,096 | 15.2% | $47,440 | 1,080 |
| 10 | Newport | 10,393 | 17.2% | $57,213 | 1,790 |
| 11 | Madras | 7,596 | 15.9% | $56,590 | 1,211 |
| 12 | Lebanon | 18,978 | 16.0% | $56,740 | 3,034 |
| 13 | Sweet Home | 9,977 | 17.4% | $59,479 | 1,735 |
| 14 | Talent | 6,271 | 15.3% | $53,843 | 958 |
| 15 | Grants Pass | 39,183 | 15.5% | $56,877 | 6,081 |
| 16 | Eugene | 177,520 | 18.2% | $63,836 | 32,290 |
| 17 | Dallas | 17,214 | 16.9% | $65,647 | 2,912 |
| 18 | Lincoln City | 9,890 | 14.3% | $56,322 | 1,415 |
| 19 | Coos Bay | 15,867 | 14.2% | $55,292 | 2,246 |
| 20 | Sutherlin | 8,574 | 13.0% | $51,860 | 1,114 |
| 21 | Monmouth | 11,176 | 15.6% | $66,858 | 1,741 |
| 22 | Springfield | 61,642 | 15.5% | $67,211 | 9,536 |
| 23 | Florence | 9,483 | 10.6% | $52,049 | 1,008 |
| 24 | Cottage Grove | 10,630 | 14.3% | $64,133 | 1,523 |
| 25 | McMinnville | 34,493 | 15.4% | $70,060 | 5,325 |
| 26 | Woodburn | 26,845 | 15.2% | $67,469 | 4,072 |
| 27 | Baker City | 10,177 | 12.8% | $58,125 | 1,306 |
| 28 | North Bend | 10,231 | 15.5% | $72,483 | 1,588 |
| 29 | Pendleton | 17,070 | 14.7% | $70,179 | 2,509 |
| 30 | Prineville | 11,187 | 14.8% | $72,058 | 1,650 |
| 31 | Tillamook | 5,229 | 9.9% | $57,604 | 515 |
| 32 | Fairview | 10,627 | 14.4% | $71,024 | 1,534 |
| 33 | Salem | 176,666 | 14.7% | $71,900 | 25,899 |
| 34 | Astoria | 10,162 | 14.2% | $70,043 | 1,438 |
| 35 | The Dalles | 15,973 | 10.7% | $62,830 | 1,702 |
| 36 | Ashland | 21,343 | 14.2% | $71,782 | 3,041 |
| 37 | Sheridan | 6,462 | 10.8% | $69,375 | 694 |
| 38 | Medford | 85,794 | 12.5% | $70,497 | 10,758 |
| 39 | King City | 5,078 | 9.4% | $66,728 | 476 |
| 40 | Albany | 56,773 | 13.3% | $73,809 | 7,573 |
| 41 | Silverton | 10,445 | 13.3% | $74,286 | 1,387 |
| 42 | Hermiston | 19,406 | 9.3% | $67,128 | 1,810 |
| 43 | Veneta | 5,191 | 8.6% | $61,949 | 447 |
| 44 | Gresham | 112,818 | 12.7% | $73,608 | 14,282 |
| 45 | Brookings | 6,733 | 11.0% | $73,384 | 741 |
| 46 | Forest Grove | 26,406 | 13.4% | $81,998 | 3,538 |
| 47 | Independence | 10,088 | 11.8% | $79,158 | 1,187 |
| 48 | Portland | 642,715 | 12.8% | $88,792 | 82,074 |
| 49 | Redmond | 35,161 | 9.7% | $79,789 | 3,417 |
| 50 | Gladstone | 11,986 | 13.0% | $90,395 | 1,559 |
| 51 | Warrenton | 6,297 | 5.5% | $67,430 | 343 |
| 52 | Junction City | 6,926 | 8.7% | $76,969 | 602 |
| 53 | Stayton | 8,223 | 8.4% | $72,557 | 690 |
| 54 | Eagle Point | 9,783 | 9.8% | $89,187 | 955 |
| 55 | Hood River | 8,360 | 8.6% | $77,975 | 717 |
| 56 | Bend | 101,472 | 9.5% | $88,792 | 9,599 |
| 57 | St. Helens | 14,152 | 8.8% | $82,123 | 1,246 |
| 58 | Central Point | 19,183 | 8.6% | $80,450 | 1,649 |
| 59 | Beaverton | 97,502 | 9.9% | $94,279 | 9,642 |
| 60 | Wilsonville | 26,183 | 8.8% | $87,371 | 2,309 |
| 61 | Keizer | 39,013 | 8.4% | $81,217 | 3,288 |
| 62 | Cornelius | 13,700 | 9.3% | $90,071 | 1,275 |
| 63 | Troutdale | 16,000 | 8.7% | $84,339 | 1,385 |
| 64 | Newberg | 25,622 | 8.9% | $91,389 | 2,293 |
| 65 | Philomath | 5,537 | 7.9% | $83,373 | 437 |
| 66 | Molalla | 10,168 | 7.1% | $83,996 | 722 |
| 67 | Tualatin | 27,710 | 9.2% | $105,073 | 2,554 |
| 68 | Milwaukie | 21,256 | 6.5% | $82,422 | 1,375 |
| 69 | Scappoose | 8,099 | 8.2% | $99,475 | 660 |
| 70 | Hillsboro | 107,050 | 8.2% | $103,207 | 8,724 |
| 71 | Oregon City | 37,482 | 7.0% | $94,648 | 2,634 |
| 72 | Tigard | 55,395 | 8.0% | $105,008 | 4,403 |
| 73 | Sandy | 12,738 | 7.8% | $102,201 | 989 |
| 74 | Canby | 18,103 | 6.8% | $100,268 | 1,234 |
| 75 | Creswell | 5,625 | 2.8% | $95,865 | 158 |
| 76 | Happy Valley | 25,572 | 6.9% | $120,324 | 1,754 |
| 77 | Sherwood | 20,227 | 4.0% | $110,616 | 800 |
| 78 | West Linn | 27,065 | 5.2% | $138,526 | 1,407 |
| 79 | Lake Oswego | 40,367 | 3.1% | $140,441 | 1,255 |