// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the List of counties in Oregon say? I'm a little "divided".

Counties of Oregon
MLH BKR WL UNI UMA MR GRANT HARNEY LAKE KL DC CROOK JEFF WH GL SH WS HR MULT CK MN LINN LANE DOUG JC JO CU CS BE LC PK YM TL WA CO CL
Location	State of Oregon
Number	36
Populations	1,472 (Wheeler) – 795,391 (Multnomah)
Areas	435 square miles (1,130 km2) (Multnomah) – 10,135 square miles (26,250 km2) (Harney)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	Cities, townships, unincorporated communities, Indian reservations, census-designated places

There are 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. The Oregon Constitution does not explicitly provide for county seats; Article VI, covering the "Administrative Department" of the state of Oregon, simply states that:

All county and city officers shall keep their respective offices at such places therein, and perform such duties, as may be prescribed by law.

More details on the etymologies of Oregon county names and place names in general are documented in Oregon Geographic Names. Oregon's postal abbreviation is OR and its FIPS state code is 41.

Oregon counties by date of establishment

  1840–1849

  1850–1859

  1860–1869

  1870–1889

  After 1890

County information

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify counties, is provided with each entry. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.

County	FIPS code	County seat	Est.	Origin	Etymology	Population	Area	Map
Baker County	001	Baker City	1862	Eastern portion of Wasco County	Named in honor of Edward Dickinson Baker, who died in combat while serving as Oregon senator.	16,658	3,068 sq mi (7,946 km2)
Benton County	003	Corvallis	1847	Polk County	Named for Thomas Hart Benton, senator and advocate of U.S. annexation of the Oregon Country.	97,728	676 sq mi (1,751 km2)
Clackamas County	005	Oregon City	1843	One of the original four districts of the Oregon Country	Named for the Clackamas people, a local Native American tribe.	426,280	1,868 sq mi (4,838 km2)
Clatsop County	007	Astoria	1844	Northern and western portions of the original Twality District	Named for the Clatsop, a local Native American tribe.	40,926	827 sq mi (2,142 km2)
Columbia County	009	Saint Helens	1854	Northern half of Washington County	Named for the neighboring Columbia River.	54,091	657 sq mi (1,702 km2)
Coos County	011	Coquille	1853	Western parts of Umpqua and Jackson Counties	Named for the Coos people, a regional Native American group.	63,992	1,600 sq mi (4,144 km2)
Crook County	013	Prineville	1882	Southern part of Wasco County	Named for George Crook, a Union army officer in the Civil War and Indian Wars.	27,564	2,980 sq mi (7,718 km2)
Curry County	015	Gold Beach	1855	Coos County	Named for George Law Curry, governor of the Oregon Territory.	22,621	1,627 sq mi (4,214 km2)
Deschutes County	017	Bend	1916	Southern part of Crook County	Named for the Deschutes River from French Riviere des Chutes, 'River of the falls'.	213,072	3,018 sq mi (7,817 km2)
Douglas County	019	Roseburg	1852	Portion of Umpqua County which lay east of the Coast Range summit	Named for senator Stephen A. Douglas, a supporter of Oregon's admission to the union.	111,951	5,037 sq mi (13,046 km2)
Gilliam County	021	Condon	1885	Eastern third of Wasco County	Named for Oregon pioneer Cornelius Gilliam (1798–1848).	1,971	1,204 sq mi (3,118 km2)
Grant County	023	Canyon City	1864	Parts of old Wasco and old Umatilla counties	Named for Ulysses S. Grant prior to his election as president, in recognition of his military service.	7,075	4,529 sq mi (11,730 km2)
Harney County	025	Burns	1889	Southern two-thirds of Grant County	Named in honor of cavalry officer William S. Harney.	7,380	10,135 sq mi (26,250 km2)
Hood River County	027	Hood River	1908	Northwest portion of Wasco County	Named for the Hood River.	23,720	522 sq mi (1,352 km2)
Jackson County	029	Medford	1852	Southwestern portion of Lane County and unorganized area south of Douglas and Umpqua Counties.	Named for President Andrew Jackson.	221,795	2,785 sq mi (7,213 km2)
Jefferson County	031	Madras	1914	Crook County	Named for the adjacent Mount Jefferson, itself named for President Thomas Jefferson.	25,740	1,781 sq mi (4,613 km2)
Josephine County	033	Grants Pass	1856	Western half of Jackson County	Named for Virginia "Josephine" Rollins, the first female settler in the area.	87,867	1,640 sq mi (4,248 km2)
Klamath County	035	Klamath Falls	1882	Western part of Lake County	Named for the Klamath people, a local Native American tribe.	70,274	5,945 sq mi (15,397 km2)
Lake County	037	Lakeview	1874	Jackson and Wasco Counties	Named for the large number of local lakes and springs.	8,187	7,940 sq mi (20,565 km2)
Lane County	039	Eugene	1851	Southern part of Linn County and the portion of Benton County east of Umpqua County	Named for Joseph Lane, the first governor of the Oregon Territory.	381,584	4,554 sq mi (11,795 km2)
Lincoln County	041	Newport	1893	Western portion of Benton County and Polk County	Named for President Abraham Lincoln.	50,636	980 sq mi (2,538 km2)
Linn County	043	Albany	1847	Southern portion of Champoeg (later Marion) County	Named for Lewis F. Linn, sponsor of the Donation Land Act.	132,843	2,291 sq mi (5,934 km2)
Malheur County	045	Vale	1887	Southern portion of Baker County	Named for the Malheur River, itself from French Riviere au Malheur, 'Unfortunate River', named by French fur trappers whose belongings were stolen along the river.	32,261	9,888 sq mi (25,610 km2)
Marion County	047	Salem	1843	One of the original four districts of the Oregon territory	Named for Francis Marion (1732-1795), a Revolutionary War general.	355,777	1,185 sq mi (3,069 km2)
Morrow County	049	Heppner	1885	Western portion of Umatilla County and a small portion of eastern Wasco County	Named for state representative Jackson L. Morrow, an advocate for the formation of the county.	12,602	2,033 sq mi (5,265 km2)
Multnomah County	051	Portland	1854	Eastern part of Washington and the northern part of Clackamas counties	Named for the Multnomah people, a Chinookan band from Sauvie Island.	795,391	435 sq mi (1,127 km2)
Polk County	053	Dallas	1845	Yamhill District	Named for President James Knox Polk, who was serving during the county's creation.	90,037	741 sq mi (1,919 km2)
Sherman County	055	Moro	1889	Northeast corner of Wasco County	Named for Union general William Tecumseh Sherman.	2,051	823 sq mi (2,132 km2)
Tillamook County	057	Tillamook	1853	Clatsop, Yamhill and Polk Counties	Named for the Tillamook people, a Native American tribe.	27,384	1,102 sq mi (2,854 km2)
Umatilla County	059	Pendleton	1862	Central portion of Wasco County	Named for the adjacent Umatilla River, derived from a Sahaptin, word possibly meaning laughing waters.	81,119	3,215 sq mi (8,327 km2)
Union County	061	La Grande	1864	Baker County	Named for the town of Union, itself named for the Union during the Civil War.	25,900	2,037 sq mi (5,276 km2)
Wallowa County	063	Enterprise	1887	Eastern portion of Union County.	Named after the Nez Perce wallowa, a tripod of poles used to support fish nets.	7,595	3,145 sq mi (8,146 km2)
Wasco County	065	The Dalles	1854	Parts of Clackamas, Lane, Linn and Marion counties	Named for the Wasco people, a Native American tribe.	26,310	2,381 sq mi (6,167 km2)
Washington County	067	Hillsboro	1843	One of the original four districts of the Oregon Country (as Twality District)	Named for President George Washington.	611,708	724 sq mi (1,875 km2)
Wheeler County	069	Fossil	1899	Grant County, Gilliam County, and Crook County	Named for Henry H. Wheeler, an early Oregon mail carrier.	1,472	1,715 sq mi (4,442 km2)
Yamhill County	071	McMinnville	1843	One of the original four districts of the Oregon Country	Named for the Yamhill band of Kalapuya, a local Native American group.	110,024	716 sq mi (1,854 km2)

See also

• Umpqua County, Oregon (historic)
• Oregon locations by per capita income
• List of U.S. county secession proposals#Oregon
• Lists of Oregon-related topics

Further reading

• writer, Statf (2022). "OREGON COUNTY GOVERNMENT OVERVIEW" (PDF). ce.naco.org. National Association of Counties (NACo). Retrieved January 3, 2025.

External links

• Historic county boundaries from the Oregon Archives
• Holman, Frederick van Voorhies (March 1910). "Oregon Counties, Their Creations and the Origins of Their Names" . Oregon Historical Quarterly.
• Map of counties adjusted for population