Census-designated place · Polk County, Oregon

Grand Ronde, Oregon

Grand Ronde is a census-designated place in Polk County, Oregon, part of the Salem, OR metro area. It has 1,549 residents. Grand Ronde, Oregon has a quality-of-life score of 23 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,112 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oregon it ranks #203 of 227 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), effective property tax rate (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on bachelor's degree or higher (low), rent as share of income (high) and pharmacies (low).

23Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,112 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oregon: #203 of 227 in OR
Population: 1,549 (2020-2024)
Land area: 19 mi²
Density: 80.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 4130300

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 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.

Safety39#9,569/15,637
Economy21#12,417/15,631
Housing11#13,324/14,977
Health44#8,749/15,609
Healthcare42#9,103/15,650
Environment56#6,796/15,453
Education1#15,470/15,649
Infrastructure44#8,800/15,650
Community50#7,753/15,651
Leisure & amenities31#10,793/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Grand Ronde, Oregon ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Polk 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 · low1,538 /100k
96/100Oregon 1,868 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePolk County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.35%
96/100Oregon 0.81%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Time spent in the emergency room · low114 min
90/100Oregon 159 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesPolk County value
Drug overdose deaths · low10.5 /100k
78/100Oregon 19.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataPolk County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Oregon 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPolk County value
Premature death · low6,536 /100k
75/100Oregon 7,519 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePolk County value

Weaknesses

Bachelor's degree or higher · low3.6%
1/100Oregon 36.8%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Oregon 31.3%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Pharmacies · low0.4 /10k
3/100Oregon 0.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPolk County value
Depression · high28.5%
8/100Oregon 27.9%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high21.4%
9/100Oregon 19.6%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Grocery stores · low0.9 /10k
9/100Oregon 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPolk County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
28.1% (2015-2019) → 62.1% (2020-2024)
+34 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
20.6% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+30 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.0% (2015-2019) → 83.7% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
15.1% (2015-2019) → 3.6% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateImproving
37.9% (2015-2019) → 26.4% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.3× (2015-2019) → 6.0× (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Grand Ronde, Oregon improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 9 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

Broadband+13 points71.0% → 83.7%

Declined3

Rent / income+30 points20.6% → 51.0%
Bachelor's+−11 points15.1% → 3.6%
Rent burden+34 points28.1% → 62.1%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Grand Ronde, Oregon between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	28.5 min2015-2019	24.7 min2020-2024	−3.8 min	Within the margin of error	84%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.1%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−11 points	Declined	1%
Broadband subscriptions	71.0%2015-2019	83.7%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	72%
Child poverty rate	37.9%2015-2019	26.4%2020-2024	−11 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Effective property tax rate	0.47%2015-2019	0.35%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	41%
High school diploma or higher	84.9%2015-2019	78.3%2020-2024	−6.5 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	4.3×2015-2019	6.0×2020-2024	+1.7×	Within the margin of error	6%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4292015-2019	0.4532020-2024	+0.024	Within the margin of error	31%
Median household income	$44,1412015-2019	$52,6692020-2024	+19%	Within the margin of error	32%
Poverty rate	22.2%2015-2019	24.8%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Rent as share of income	20.6%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+30 points	Declined	0%
Rent-burdened households	28.1%2015-2019	62.1%2020-2024	+34 points	Declined	2%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.9%2015-2019	10.1%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Within the margin of error	10%

“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 Grand Ronde, Oregon five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Grand Ronde, 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, Grand Ronde, Oregon itself moved −21.7 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

1,549 residents (±314)

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

590 households (±128)

Grand Ronde, Oregon
Oregon share

Under $25k33%†192
$25k–50k16%†94
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

590 households (±128)

Grand Ronde, Oregon
Oregon share

Own43%†254
Rent57%†336

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Rent (+16.3 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

458 workers (±141)

Grand Ronde, Oregon
Oregon share

Drive alone70%319
Carpool24%†112
Public transit0.2%†1

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 Salem, 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 Polk County, the county holding most of Grand Ronde's residents.

Polk County has 1,587 employer establishments, 176 for every 10,000 residents (0.71× the US rate of 248; 0.61× Oregon's), with 16,046 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,329. The Census Bureau also counts 5,624 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,587; 5,624 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 176; US 248 · Oregon 288
Paid employees: 16,046
Average annual pay: $47,329; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	149	16.5	1.07×About typical	796	$60,592	226
Restaurants and other eating places	124	13.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,886	$22,254	30
Construction of buildings	108	12	1.58×More than typical	383	$46,157	142
Ambulatory health care services	90	10	0.48×Fewer than typical	827	$64,424	254
Lessors of real estate	87	9.7	0.78×Fewer than typical	214	$38,196	559
Services to buildings and dwellings	56	6.2	0.92×About typical	184	$31,576	235
Limited-service restaurants	53	5.9	0.73×Fewer than typical	1,034	$20,523	12
Full-service restaurants	50	5.5	0.72×Fewer than typical	587	$25,688	11
Religious organizations	50	5.5	1.00×About typical	285	$37,653	—
Building equipment contractors	46	5.1	0.85×About typical	226	$70,743	28
Truck transportation	42	4.7	0.92×About typical	292	$61,089	77
Real estate agents and brokers	39	4.3	0.89×About typical	70	$45,100	178

Rank places for an industry Open Polk County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 90,138 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Grand Ronde, Oregon: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

AHTNA SOLUTIONS, LLC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

0FY2017
480.3KFY2019
0FY2020
215.6KFY2025
0FY2026

What was bought

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Grand Ronde, Oregon

DEMOLISH, REMOVE AND DISPOSE PROPERTIES AT SEXTON SUMMIT - GRANTS PASS LOCATION FOR THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES INCLUDE FORMER OBSERVATORY BUILDING (B-1), WATER TANK, CONCRETE PADS AND OBSOLETE SUPPORTING STRUCTURES. PROJ$383.4K
AHTNA SOLUTIONS, LLC· Polk County, OR· Construction & real property· Sep 24, 2025 – May 27, 2026· 1305M425F0146

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 Grand Ronde, Oregon, so they do not add up across cities.

Grand Ronde, Oregon's figures are part of those of Polk County, OR and Yamhill County, OR ($22.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Polk 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.

Grand Ronde, Oregon is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

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.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Salem, OR56

Other cities and towns in Polk 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/4130300

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends