About one in four people in Baker County, Oregon, has a disability
In Baker County, 22.6% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Baker County's score
In Baker County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 82.9. Unemployment averaged 5.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 88% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 62.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Baker County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Baker County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (2.7%, August 2025) and people without health insurance (4.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202688th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.7% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
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- 62.5 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent24.4% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.8% · fiscal year 202740th percentile
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- 55.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.6% · 202453rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.0% · 202454th percentile
- People with a disability22.6% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- People without health insurance4.2% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,369 · 202466th percentile
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- 31.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.4% · August 202532nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people88.7 · 202530th percentile
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- 23.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.7% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.1% · second quarter of 202633rd percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Baker County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Baker County, 28.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Baker County
Oregon
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Baker County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 28% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Baker County, Oregon, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Baker County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.9% in 2015 to 16.7% in 2016.
The share of households in Baker County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 16.7%
Low on the chart: 15.9% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Baker County, Oregon.
How Baker County has changed
Baker County's population rose 10% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1989 and 1994
High on the chart: 16,755 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Baker County, Oregon.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Baker County rose by about a fifth to 5,635, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 4,986. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Baker County, Oregon.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 5.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.9% | 2024 13.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,484 | 2024 $61,369 |
The table uses 5.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.4% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Baker County's history
1861
Gold discovered in eastern Wasco County in 1861, beginning gold rush with Baker County becoming Northwest's largest gold producer. Wikipedia
1918
U.S. Naval Observatory based observations at Baker City during the 1918 solar eclipse. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 18,297. The 2020 Census counted 16,668, 91% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Baker County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Baker County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Baker County, in Oregon and Idaho, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Baker County ranks 2nd of the seven; Malheur County is highest, at 40.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malheur County, OR | 61 | 18.5% | 40.2% |
| Washington County, ID | 60 | 12.6% | 31.3% |
| Grant County, OR | 53 | 13.4% | 34.1% |
| Baker County, OR | 51 | 13.6% | 34.4% |
| Union County, OR | 50 | 14.3% | 32.5% |
| Adams County, ID | 39 | 12.4% | 29.2% |
| Wallowa County, OR | 34 | 11.7% | 29.0% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Baker County the poorest county in Oregon?
No, Baker County's poverty rate was 13.6% in 2024, 17th highest of 36 in Oregon (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Malheur County, at 18.5%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Baker County ranks 21st of 36 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Baker County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Oregon Law Center
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Baker County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.