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The Dalles, Oregon

The Dalles is a small town of about 15,700 people in Wasco County, Oregon. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Portland, is about 73 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
15,745
down 1.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$360,800
Wasco County prices up 5.1% since 2022
Household income
$62,614
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Oregon
97.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Mid-Columbia Medical Center
To Portland
73 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.8% below the U.S. average in the parts of Oregon outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood41 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 26.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMid-Columbia Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPortland is about 73 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means The Dalles meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$360,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 5.1%Wasco County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$993 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$62,614U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
63%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,030 a yearOregon: $3,876
Homes built before 1940
20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
97.2U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Oregon outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 5.1% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Oregon outside metro areas, not The Dalles alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
15,7452020: 15,977
Median age
38.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
23%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (24%); retail (13%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mid-Columbia Medical Center, The Dalles, OR, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

5 public schools in The Dalles, run by North Wasco County SD 21.

Colleges in or next to town: Columbia Gorge Community College (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Oregon's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
76%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
31°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
43 a year
Nights at or below freezing
72 a year
Rain and melted snow
14 inches a year
Snow
6 inches a year
Elevation
100 feet

Weather stations: The Dalles Muni Ap (2 miles away) and The Dalles (3 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Gresham, Portland.

Wasco County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

21 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including The Dalles Commercial Historic District and the Trevitt's Addition Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • John Day Fossil Beds National Monument58 miles

Read about The Dalles's history on Wikipedia.

Know The Dalles?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Dallesport, WA (unincorporated)1,603 people, 2 miles
  • Chenoweth, OR (unincorporated)1,445 people, 4 miles
  • Rowena, OR (unincorporated)181 people, 8 miles
  • Lyle, WA (unincorporated)218 people, 9 miles
  • Wishram, WA (unincorporated)411 people, 10 miles
  • Dufur, OR638 people, 10 miles
  • Mosier, OR472 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.