City · Clatsop County, Oregon

Seaside, Oregon

Seaside is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, part of the Astoria, OR metro area. It has 7,192 residents. Seaside, Oregon has a quality-of-life score of 44 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,709 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oregon it ranks #118 of 227 cities and towns. It ranks best on restaurants and bars (high), hot days (low) and public EV charging ports (high). It ranks worst on home price to income ratio (high), suicide rate (high) and income inequality (Gini index) (high).

44Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,709 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oregon: #118 of 227 in OR
Population: 7,192 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 1,776.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4165950

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety18#12,758/15,637
Economy9#14,190/15,631
Housing20#11,914/14,977
Health29#11,091/15,609
Healthcare42#9,133/15,650
Environment99#129/15,453
Education39#9,515/15,649
Infrastructure55#7,059/15,650
Community81#3,030/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,884/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Restaurants and bars · high30.8 /10k
100/100Oregon 12.4 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsClatsop County value
Hot days · low1 days
97/100Oregon 16 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationClatsop County value
Public EV charging ports · high20.3 /10k
96/100Oregon 10.1 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyClatsop County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.2 µg/m³
95/100Oregon 8.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyClatsop County value
Grocery stores · high2.9 /10k
94/100Oregon 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsClatsop County value
New homes permitted · high12.8 /1k
91/100Oregon 3.5 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data

Weaknesses

Home price to income ratio · high9.7×
2/100Oregon 5.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Suicide rate · high31.6 /100k
3/100Oregon 20.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataClatsop County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.567
3/100Oregon 0.463United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Traffic deaths · high29.9 /100k
7/100Oregon 13.3 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataClatsop County value
Firearm deaths · high24.3 /100k
7/100Oregon 15.0 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataClatsop County value
Depression · high28.5%
8/100Oregon 27.9%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationRising
6,737 (2015-2019) → 7,192 (2020-2024)
+6.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
5.4 /1k (2021) → 12.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+138%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
43.0% (2015-2019) → 61.3% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
8.6% (2015-2019) → 21.7% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
17.8% (2015-2019) → 7.0% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.6% (2015-2019) → 90.0% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Seaside, Oregon improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 5. 4 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.

Improved3

Uninsured−11 points17.8% → 7.0%
Bachelor's++8.5 points22.8% → 31.3%
Broadband+10 points79.6% → 90.0%

Declined5

Price / income+3.0×6.7× → 9.7×
Inequality+0.1660.401 → 0.568
Poverty+6.4 points11.2% → 17.6%
Rent burden+18 points43.0% → 61.3%
Rent / income+6 points27.7% → 33.7%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Seaside, Oregon between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.4 min2015-2019	18.1 min2020-2024	+0.7 min	Within the margin of error	39%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.8%2015-2019	31.3%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Improved	85%
Broadband subscriptions	79.6%2015-2019	90.0%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	62%
Effective property tax rate	0.71%2015-2019	0.74%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	12%
High school diploma or higher	93.7%2015-2019	93.7%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Home price to income ratio	6.7×2015-2019	9.7×2020-2024	+3.0×	Declined	1%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4012015-2019	0.5682020-2024	+0.166	Declined	1%
Median household income	$46,5052015-2019	$47,3612020-2024	+1.8%	Within the margin of error	9%
Poverty rate	11.2%2015-2019	17.6%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Declined	9%
Rent as share of income	27.7%2015-2019	33.7%2020-2024	+6 points	Declined	18%
Rent-burdened households	43.0%2015-2019	61.3%2020-2024	+18 points	Declined	10%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	17.8%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	−11 points	Improved	97%

“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 Seaside, Oregon five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Seaside, 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, Seaside, Oregon itself moved −17.6 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

7,192 residents (±28)

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

3,638 households (±388)

Seaside, Oregon
Oregon share

Under $25k24%†881
$25k–50k30%†1,076
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,638 households (±388)

Seaside, Oregon
Oregon share

Own48%1,747
Rent52%1,891

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

3,000 workers (±327)

Seaside, Oregon
Oregon share

Drive alone66%1,979
Carpool4.8%†145
Public transit0.0%0

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 Astoria, 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 Clatsop County, the county holding most of Seaside's residents.

Clatsop County has 1,602 employer establishments, 389 for every 10,000 residents (1.57× the US rate of 248; 1.35× Oregon's), with 16,327 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,988. The Census Bureau also counts 3,275 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,602; 3,275 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 389; US 248 · Oregon 288
Paid employees: 16,327
Average annual pay: $47,988; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	196	47.6	2.59×More than typical	3,130	$29,219	24
Full-service restaurants	100	24.3	3.17×More than typical	1,841	$32,402	6
Specialty trade contractors	100	24.3	1.57×More than typical	683	$54,849	143
Construction of buildings	98	23.8	3.15×More than typical	307	$47,443	123
Lessors of real estate	90	21.9	1.78×More than typical	652	$46,379	391
Ambulatory health care services	87	21.1	1.01×About typical	738	$68,140	127
Traveler accommodation	69	16.8	9.29×More than typical	1,120	$34,079	32
Limited-service restaurants	50	12.2	1.52×More than typical	890	$26,456	14
Services to buildings and dwellings	49	11.9	1.77×More than typical	175	$35,926	202
Snack and non-alcoholic beverage bars	45	10.9	4.33×More than typical	398	$20,658	4
Clothing and accessories stores	44	10.7	2.95×More than typical	349	$25,610	33
Real estate agents and brokers	43	10.5	2.15×More than typical	214	$55,953	88

Rank places for an industry Open Clatsop County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 41,135 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 $1,910 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Seaside, Oregon: $0.27 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,910
Per resident: $0.27; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Bureau of Land Management$1,910100%

Top recipients

PATRICK CHASTAIN$1,910100%

Spending by fiscal year

992.2FY2017
-783.1FY2019
42.7FY2020
452.4FY2021
0FY2022
536FY2023
183.6FY2024
1.9KFY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for forestry · 1153$1,910100%

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

Seaside, Oregon's figures are part of those of Clatsop County, OR ($82.4M 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: Seaside is mostly in Clatsop County.

See federal money in Clatsop 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.

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

House

Suzanne BonamiciD-OR-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.2%

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.

Clatsop County68100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Astoria, OR72

Other cities and towns in Clatsop 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/4165950

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends