Union County

Union County is home to the communities of Cove, Elgin, Imbler, Island City, La Grande, North Powder, Summerville, and Union. Union County is a beautiful place to live with mountains and streams providing hunting, fishing, skiing, and camping opportunities. Initially, the county’s economy was defined by mining but over the years farming (wheat, fruit, vegetables, and grass seeds), cattle, sheep raising, and timber replaced mining as the primary economic forces in the county. More recently, the county diversified into an economic base that includes light manufacturing; technical based business and regional headquarters for Federal and State government. A mainstay of the Union County economy is Eastern Oregon University – a college offering certificate and degree programs that attracts students from Oregon, the PNW and internationally.

Communities in Union County include:

Cove
Elgin
Imbler
Island City
La Grande
North Powder
Summerville
Union

Population

Population	2000	2010	2026	2031
Union County	24,530	25,748	26,351	26,338

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Population by Age

Population	2026
0-4	1,375
5-9	1,488
10-14	1,631
15-19	1,714
20-24	1,519
25-29	1,869
30-34	1,542
35-39	1,673
40-44	1,686
45-49	1,391
50-54	1,353
55-59	1,307
60-64	1,523
65-69	1,842
70-74	1,713
75-79	1,375
80-84	708
85+	642
18+	20,904
Median Age	41

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Population by Race

Union County	2026
Total	26,351.00
White Alone	84.64%
Black Alone	0.75%
American Indian Alone	1.09%
Asian Alone	0.8%
Pacific Islander Alone	2.1%
Some Other Race	1.95%
Two or More Races	8.67%
Hispanic Origin	5.92%
Diversity Index	35.60

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Growth Rate

Union County	2026 - 2031
Population	-0.01%
Households	0.21%
Families	0.12%
Median Household Income	2%
Per Capita Income	2%

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Housing

Households

Population	2000	2010	2026	2031
Households	9,740	10,501	11,044	11,161
Housing Units	10,604	11,490	11,978	12,102
Owner Occupied Units			7,285	7,380
Renter Occupied Units			3,759	3,781
Vacant Units			934	941

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Home Value

Union County	2026	2031
Median Home Value	$361,817	$376,917
Average Home Value	$403,043	$420,579
<$50,000	374	351
$50,000 - $99,999	226	215
$100,000 - $149,999	295	287
$150,000 - $199,999	478	463
$200,000 - $249,999	717	684
$250,000 - $299,999	760	737
$300,000 - $399,999	1,282	1,239
$400,000 - $499,999	1,328	1,317
$500,000 - $749,999	1,335	1,505
$1,000,000 +	139	172

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Housing Year Built

Year Range	Houses Built
2010 or Later	720
2000-2009	921
1990-1999	1,379
1980-1989	1,345
1970-1979	1,958
1960-1969	846
1950-1959	911
1940-1949	455
1939 or Before	3,091

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Income

Union County	2026	2031
Median Household	$71,569	$79,488
Average Household	$86,741	$96,772
Per Capita	$36,469	$41,126

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Household Income

Union County	2026
<$15,000	1,007
$15,000 - $24,999	740
$25,000 - $34,999	834
$35,000 - $49,999	1,264
$50,000 - $74,999	1,887
$75,000 - $99,999	1,745
$100,000 - $149,999	2,016
$150,000 - $199,999	949
$200,000+	602

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Employees

Commute

Category	Commuters
Workers 16+	11,658
In-County Residents	11,187
Out-of-County Residents	300
Drive Alone	8,385
Carpooled	1,130
Public Transport	31
Work at Home	995
Motorcycle	0
Bicycle	46
Walked	742
Other	329
Less than 5 minutes	1,419
5-9 minutes	3,063
10-14 minutes	2,246
15-19 minutes	906
20-24 minutes	1,040
25-29 minutes	287
30-34 minutes	764
35-39 minutes	103
40-44 minutes	74
45-59 minutes	244
60-89 minutes	249
90+ minutes	268
Average Travel Time	16

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Employees by NAICS

Category	Number
Total Employees	11,466
Agr/Forestry/Fish/Hunt	395
Mining	16
Utilities	23
Construction	366
Manufacturing	757
Wholesale Trade	630

Retail Trade	1,434
Motor Veh/Parts Dealers	347
Furn & Home Furnish Str	35
Electronics & Appl Store	23
Bldg Matl/Garden Equip	68
Food & Beverage Stores	286
Health/Pers Care Stores	64
Gasoline Stations	138
Clothing/Accessory Store	19
Sports/Hobby/Book/Music	121
General Merchandise Str	333

Transportation/Warehouse	205
Information	175

Finance & Insurance	218
Cntrl Bank/Crdt Intrmdtn	102
Sec/Cmdty Cntrct/Oth Inv	63
Insur/Funds/Trusts/Other	53

Real Estate/Rent/Leasing	190
Prof/Scientific/Tech Srv	342
Legal Services	28
Mgmt of Comp/Enterprises	4
Admin/Support/Waste Mgmt	92
Educational Services	1,967
HealthCare/Social Assist	1,603
Arts/Entertainment/Rec	131

Accommodation/Food Srvcs	989
Accommodation	127
Food Srv/Drinking Places	862

Other Srv excl Pub Admin	608
Auto Repair/Maintenance	100
Public Administration Emp	1,321

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Educational Attainment (25+)

Union County	2026
<9th Grade	303
Some High School	723
GED	1,062
Graduated High School	5,306
Some College/No Degree	4,178
Associates Degree	1,935
Bachelor's Degree	3,339
Graduate Degree	1,778

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09

Businesses

Businesses by NAICS

Category	Number
Total Businesses	1,274
Agr/Forestry/Fish/Hunt Bus	65
Mining Bus	1
Utilities Bus	5
Construction Bus	88
Manufacturing Bus	37
Wholesale Trade Bus	40

Retail Trade Bus	159
Motor Veh/Parts Dealers Bus	16
Furn & Home Furnish Str Bus	8
Electronics & Appl Store Bus	6
Bldg Matl/Garden Equip Bus	17
Food & Beverage Stores Bus	31
Health/Pers Care Stores Bus	11
Gasoline Stations Bus	19
Clothing/Accessory Store Bus	7
Sports/Hobby/Book/Music Bus	34
General Merchandise Str Bus	10

Transportation/Warehouse Bus	35
Information Bus	32

Finance & Insurance Bus	48
Cntrl Bank/Crdt Intrmdtn Bus	22
Sec/Cmdty Cntrct/Oth Inv Bus	10
Insur/Funds/Trusts/Other Bus	16

Real Estate/Rent/Leasing Bus	51
Prof/Scientific/Tech Srv Bus	76
Legal Services Bus	6
Mgmt of Comp/Enterprises Bus	1
Admin/Support/Waste Mgmt Bus	29
Educational Services Bus	42
HealthCare/Social Assist Bus	104
Arts/Entertainment/Rec Bus	28

Accommodation/Food Srvcs Bus	93
Accommodation Bus	21
Food Srv/Drinking Places Bus	72

Other Srv excl Pub Admin Bus	181
Auto Repair/Maintenance Bus	31
Public Administration Bus	111

Source: ESRI, 2026-09-09