City · Baker County, Oregon

Baker City, Oregon

Baker City is a city in Baker County, Oregon, part of the Baker City, OR metro area. It has 10,210 residents. Baker City, Oregon has a quality-of-life score of 43 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,999 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oregon it ranks #123 of 227 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), mental health providers (high) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on hospital quality rating (low), flu vaccinations (low) and gyms and fitness centers (low).

43Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,999 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oregon: #123 of 227 in OR
Population: 10,210 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 1,415.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4103650

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety28#11,296/15,637
Economy22#12,225/15,631
Housing45#8,256/14,977
Health34#10,332/15,609
Healthcare40#9,388/15,650
Environment73#4,135/15,453
Education36#10,070/15,649
Infrastructure57#6,693/15,650
Community70#4,753/15,651
Leisure & amenities59#6,493/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Baker City, Oregon ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Baker County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Preventable hospital stays · low642 /100k
100/100Oregon 1,868 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBaker County value
Mental health providers · high854 /100k
98/100Oregon 776 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBaker County value
Public libraries · high4.2 /10k
98/100Oregon 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesBaker County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low92 min
98/100Oregon 159 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBaker County value
Grocery stores · high3.6 /10k
97/100Oregon 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBaker County value
Average commute time · low14.1 min
97/100Oregon 23.0 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100Oregon 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBaker County value
Flu vaccinations · low25.0%
3/100Oregon 39.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBaker County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Oregon 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBaker County value
Traffic deaths · high35.6 /100k
5/100Oregon 13.3 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataBaker County value
Pharmacies · low0.6 /10k
5/100Oregon 0.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBaker County value
Job growth · low-3.6%
5/100Oregon -1.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataBaker County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.1% (2015-2019) → 89.5% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$44,537 (2015-2019) → $61,580 (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.3× (2015-2019) → 4.4× (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
New homes permittedWorsening
5.9 /1k (2021) → 4.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−32%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
15.7% (2015-2019) → 9.3% (2020-2024)
−6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
9.8% (2015-2019) → 5.2% (2020-2024)
−4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Baker City, Oregon improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Uninsured−4.6 points9.8% → 5.2%
Broadband+12 points77.1% → 89.5%
Household income+38%$44,537 → $61,580

Declined1

Price / income+1.1×3.3× → 4.4×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Baker City, Oregon between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	12.0 min2015-2019	14.1 min2020-2024	+2.1 min	Within the margin of error	27%
Bachelor's degree or higher	23.9%2015-2019	26.9%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Broadband subscriptions	77.1%2015-2019	89.5%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	71%
Child poverty rate	15.7%2015-2019	9.3%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Effective property tax rate	1.22%2015-2019	0.88%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	79%
High school diploma or higher	91.1%2015-2019	92.4%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	4.4×2020-2024	+1.1×	Declined	18%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4202015-2019	0.4352020-2024	+0.016	Within the margin of error	37%
Median household income	$44,5372015-2019	$61,5802020-2024	+38%	Improved	71%
Poverty rate	12.3%2015-2019	14.0%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Rent as share of income	27.0%2015-2019	26.2%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Rent-burdened households	41.7%2015-2019	43.9%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Unemployment rate	9.4%2015-2019	7.2%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.8%2015-2019	5.2%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Improved	85%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Baker City, Oregon five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Baker City, Oregon in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Baker City, Oregon itself moved +0.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

10,210 residents (±55)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,468 households (±180)

Baker City, Oregon
Oregon share

Under $25k21%927
$25k–50k18%802
$50k–75k19%855

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,468 households (±180)

Baker City, Oregon
Oregon share

Own70%3,125
Rent30%1,343

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

3,822 workers (±327)

Baker City, Oregon
Oregon share

Drive alone76%2,900
Carpool4.1%†157
Public transit0.3%†10

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Baker City, OR

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Baker County, the county holding most of Baker City's residents.

Baker County has 521 employer establishments, 309 for every 10,000 residents (1.24× the US rate of 248; 1.07× Oregon's), with 4,507 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,902. The Census Bureau also counts 1,268 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 521; 1,268 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 309; US 248 · Oregon 288
Paid employees: 4,507
Average annual pay: $45,902; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Baker County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	40	23.7	1.29×More than typical	453	$22,912	6
Specialty trade contractors	39	23.1	1.49×More than typical	141	$44,745	79
Construction of buildings	34	20.1	2.66×More than typical	104	$38,404	51
Ambulatory health care services	30	17.8	0.85×About typical	280	$51,657	42
Full-service restaurants	23	13.6	1.77×More than typical	237	$23,624	3
Religious organizations	18	10.7	1.92×More than typical	69	$19,783	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	17	10.1	1.49×More than typical	35	$26,714	58
Building equipment contractors	16	9.5	1.57×More than typical	59	$52,102	7
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	14	8.3	2.04×More than typical	73	$43,247	19
Traveler accommodation	14	8.3	4.59×More than typical	81	$23,235	11
Automotive repair and maintenance	13	7.7	1.53×More than typical	46	$36,435	21
Lessors of real estate	13	7.7	0.62×Fewer than typical	23	$39,826	164

Rank places for an industry Open Baker County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 16,886 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Baker City is mostly in Baker County.

See federal money in Baker County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Baker City, Oregon is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Cliff BentzR-OR-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 0.1%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Baker County53100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Baker City, OR60

Other cities and towns in Baker County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4103650

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends