Census-designated place · Josephine County, Oregon

Merlin, Oregon

Merlin is a census-designated place in Josephine County, Oregon, part of the Grants Pass, OR metro area. It has 1,617 residents. Merlin, Oregon has a quality-of-life score of 24 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,971 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oregon it ranks #200 of 227 cities and towns. It ranks best on broadband subscriptions (high), mental health providers (high) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), firearm deaths (high) and mental health care shortage (high).

24Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,971 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oregon: #200 of 227 in OR
Population: 1,617 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 389.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 4147650

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.

Safety12#13,834/15,637
Economy49#7,918/15,631
Housing12#13,143/14,977
Health24#11,932/15,609
Healthcare42#9,131/15,650
Environment28#11,086/15,453
Education26#11,571/15,649
Infrastructure89#1,736/15,650
Community23#12,033/15,651
Leisure & amenities43#8,915/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Broadband subscriptions · high100.0%
99/100Oregon 92.4%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Mental health providers · high975 /100k
99/100Oregon 776 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJosephine County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.43%
92/100Oregon 0.81%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Median Air Quality Index · low33
91/100Oregon 352025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyJosephine County value
Unemployment rate · low1.6%
87/100Oregon 5.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Preventable hospital stays · low1,949 /100k
86/100Oregon 1,868 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJosephine County value

Weaknesses

Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Oregon 31.3%United States 30.6%2019-2023U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Firearm deaths · high29.6 /100k
3/100Oregon 15.0 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataJosephine County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Oregon 12.5United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationJosephine County value
Suicide rate · high28.5 /100k
5/100Oregon 20.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataJosephine County value
Natural hazard risk · high95.4
5/100Oregon 60.82025Federal Emergency Management AgencyJosephine County value
Injury deaths · high141 /100k
6/100Oregon 96 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJosephine County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,922 (2015-2019) → 1,617 (2020-2024)
−16%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
26.9% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2019-2023)
+24 pts4 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.2%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
83.1% (2015-2019) → 100.0% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
22.8% (2015-2019) → 8.8% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
35.7% (2015-2019) → 48.0% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateImproving
13.5% (2015-2019) → 1.6% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Merlin, Oregon improved on 1 of 6 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 5 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+17 points83.1% → 100.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 6 measures

Change of every measure of Merlin, Oregon between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.1%2015-2019	16.9%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Broadband subscriptions	83.1%2015-2019	100.0%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	85%
Effective property tax rate	0.50%2015-2019	0.43%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	29%
High school diploma or higher	89.2%2015-2019	86.2%2020-2024	−3 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4292015-2019	0.4342020-2024	+0.005	Within the margin of error	46%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15075 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 Merlin, Oregon five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Merlin, 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.

No place that looked like Merlin, Oregon five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Merlin, Oregon itself moved +5.2 points in standing on average over the same 5 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

1,617 residents (±573)

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

629 households (±167)

Merlin, Oregon
Oregon share

Under $25k15%†95
$25k–50k15%†97
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

629 households (±167)

Merlin, Oregon
Oregon share

Own96%604
Rent4.0%†25

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+28.8 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

726 workers (±346)

Merlin, Oregon
Oregon share

Drive alone80%†579
Carpool0.1%†1
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 Grants Pass, 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 Josephine County, the county holding most of Merlin's residents.

Josephine County has 2,110 employer establishments, 240 for every 10,000 residents (0.97× the US rate of 248; 0.83× Oregon's), with 23,608 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,342. The Census Bureau also counts 6,637 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,110; 6,637 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 240; US 248 · Oregon 288
Paid employees: 23,608
Average annual pay: $46,342; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	179	20.4	0.98×About typical	2,537	$66,445	287
Restaurants and other eating places	173	19.7	1.07×About typical	2,942	$21,985	28
Specialty trade contractors	168	19.1	1.23×About typical	783	$52,676	442
Construction of buildings	116	13.2	1.74×More than typical	313	$42,629	308
Lessors of real estate	96	10.9	0.89×About typical	236	$34,576	622
Full-service restaurants	76	8.6	1.13×About typical	1,145	$25,113	9
Services to buildings and dwellings	68	7.7	1.15×About typical	310	$30,952	432
Limited-service restaurants	67	7.6	0.95×About typical	1,327	$20,965	13
Building finishing contractors	63	7.2	1.88×More than typical	256	$43,336	119
Offices of other health practitioners	57	6.5	1.07×About typical	278	$43,460	164
Grocery and convenience stores	50	5.7	1.92×More than typical	876	$31,500	19
Building equipment contractors	49	5.6	0.93×About typical	250	$65,372	49

Rank places for an industry Open Josephine County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 87,949 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 $10.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Merlin, Oregon: $6.35 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $10.3K; +139% vs FY2025
Per resident: $6.35; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 66%; 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

Forest Service$10.4K100%

Top recipients

GRAYBACK FORESTRY, INC.$6,76766%
LINVILLE ENTERPRISES, LLC$3,49334%

Spending by fiscal year

11.1KFY2017
49.9KFY2018
59.8KFY2019
227.4KFY2020
-182.9KFY2021
17.3KFY2022
27.6KFY2023
-26KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for forestry · 1153$6,76766%
Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373$3,49334%

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 Merlin, Oregon, so they do not add up across cities.

Merlin, Oregon's figures are part of those of Josephine County, OR ($9.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Josephine 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.

Merlin, 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.

Josephine County30100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Grants Pass, OR28

Other cities and towns in Josephine 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/4147650

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends