Census-designated place · Wasco County, Oregon

Chenoweth, Oregon

Chenoweth is a census-designated place in Wasco County, Oregon, part of the The Dalles, OR metro area. It has 1,445 residents. Chenoweth, Oregon has a quality-of-life score of 35 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,115 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oregon it ranks #163 of 227 cities and towns. It ranks best on mental health providers (high), preventable hospital stays (low) and median Air Quality Index (low). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), unemployment rate (high) and traffic deaths (high).

35Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,115 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oregon: #163 of 227 in OR
Population: 1,445 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 257.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 4112800

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety23#12,018/15,637
Economy31#10,854/15,631
Housing18#12,319/14,977
Health11#13,907/15,609
Healthcare64#5,687/15,650
Environment75#3,861/15,453
Education16#13,193/15,649
Infrastructure56#6,884/15,650
Community50#7,763/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,928/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Chenoweth, Oregon ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Wasco 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

Mental health providers · high785 /100k
98/100Oregon 776 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWasco County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,401 /100k
97/100Oregon 1,868 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWasco County value
Median Air Quality Index · low25
97/100Oregon 352025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWasco County value
Restaurants and bars · high14.4 /10k
94/100Oregon 12.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWasco County value
Average commute time · low15.5 min
88/100Oregon 23.0 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Public EV charging ports · high11.8 /10k
86/100Oregon 10.1 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyWasco County value

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high53.2 /100k
1/100Oregon 19.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWasco County value
Unemployment rate · high16.1%
2/100Oregon 5.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Traffic deaths · high39.2 /100k
3/100Oregon 13.3 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataWasco County value
Natural hazard risk · high95.9
4/100Oregon 60.82025Federal Emergency Management AgencyWasco County value
Flu vaccinations · low29.0%
7/100Oregon 39.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWasco County value
Pharmacies · low0.8 /10k
7/100Oregon 0.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWasco County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,956 (2015-2019) → 1,445 (2020-2024)
−26%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
24.2% (2015-2019) → 73.5% (2020-2024)
+49 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
19.4% (2015-2019) → 45.7% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
43.8% (2015-2019) → 18.9% (2020-2024)
−25 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Unemployment rateWorsening
5.6% (2015-2019) → 16.1% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Poverty rateImproving
19.3% (2015-2019) → 10.9% (2020-2024)
−8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Chenoweth, Oregon improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved1

Inequality−0.0770.452 → 0.375

Declined1

Rent / income+26 points19.4% → 45.7%

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Chenoweth, Oregon between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.6 min2015-2019	15.5 min2020-2024	−4.1 min	Within the margin of error	86%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.9%2015-2019	15.5%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Broadband subscriptions	78.0%2015-2019	83.7%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Effective property tax rate	1.13%2015-2019	0.86%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	71%
High school diploma or higher	90.6%2015-2019	84.5%2020-2024	−6.1 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	51%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4522015-2019	0.3752020-2024	−0.077	Improved	92%
Median household income	$54,8402015-2019	$63,4252020-2024	+16%	Within the margin of error	25%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	19.4%2015-2019	45.7%2020-2024	+26 points	Declined	1%

“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 Chenoweth, Oregon five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chenoweth, 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, Chenoweth, Oregon itself moved −9.5 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,445 residents (±350)

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

627 households (±142)

Chenoweth, Oregon
Oregon share

Under $25k19%†120
$25k–50k20%†123
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

627 households (±142)

Chenoweth, Oregon
Oregon share

Own77%480
Rent23%†147

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+12.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

618 workers (±185)

Chenoweth, Oregon
Oregon share

Drive alone82%†507
Carpool9.9%†61
Public transit

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 The Dalles, 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 Wasco County, the county holding most of Chenoweth's residents.

Wasco County has 735 employer establishments, 279 for every 10,000 residents (1.12× the US rate of 248; 0.97× Oregon's), with 7,679 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,338. The Census Bureau also counts 1,629 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 735; 1,629 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 279; US 248 · Oregon 288
Paid employees: 7,679
Average annual pay: $51,338; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	59	22.4	1.22×About typical	856	$25,043	7
Ambulatory health care services	51	19.4	0.93×About typical	467	$75,687	88
Specialty trade contractors	45	17.1	1.10×About typical	250	$64,928	96
Lessors of real estate	40	15.2	1.23×About typical	69	$36,493	201
Full-service restaurants	29	11	1.43×More than typical	314	$27,344	3
Construction of buildings	27	10.3	1.36×More than typical	80	$46,200	73
Religious organizations	24	9.1	1.64×More than typical	99	$22,990	—
Limited-service restaurants	23	8.7	1.09×About typical	463	$23,849	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	23	8.7	1.30×More than typical	60	$27,900	104
Offices of other health practitioners	22	8.4	1.38×More than typical	67	$55,104	46
Automotive repair and maintenance	20	7.6	1.51×More than typical	95	$44,168	23
Building equipment contractors	20	7.6	1.26×More than typical	99	$69,859	14

Rank places for an industry Open Wasco County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 26,327 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

In FY2026, an estimated $49.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Chenoweth, Oregon: $34.13 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $49.3K; −65% vs FY2025
Per resident: $34.13; US $1,994
Sole-source: 3.7%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.7%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$47.4K96%
Department of Veterans Affairs$1,7473.5%
Department of the Navy$2790.6%
Forest Service$1420.3%
Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education$10.350.0%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

252.8KFY2017
383.5KFY2018
643.7KFY2019
71KFY2020
175KFY2021
140KFY2022
205.1KFY2023
20.8K

Top industries (NAICS)

Investigation and security services · 5616$41K83%
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing · 3341$4,2438.6%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$9421.9%
Waste collection · 5621$8561.7%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$8311.7%
Facilities support services · 5612$560

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Chenoweth, Oregon, so they do not add up across cities.

Chenoweth, Oregon's figures are part of those of Wasco County, OR ($5.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Wasco 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.

Chenoweth, 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.

Wasco County49100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

The Dalles, OR59

Other cities and towns in Wasco 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
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/4112800

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends