Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 20,411 people, 7,248 households, and 5,175 families residing in the county. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 39 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 7,818 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 78.87% White

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.57% Black

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or African American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 1.12% Native American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 1.47% Asian

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.12% Pacific Islander

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 15.37% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 2.46% from two or more races. 25.02% of the population were Hispanic

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or Latino

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 of any race. 12.6% were of German, 10.7% English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

, 10.4% American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and 6.8% Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 ancestry according to Census 2000. 76.0% spoke English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and 22.8% Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 as their first language.

There were 7,248 households out of which 35.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 22.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county, the population was spread out with 28.00% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,326, and the median income for a family was $41,422. Males had a median income of $31,658 versus $24,382 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the county was $17,877. About 9.80% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.30% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over.

History

The first permanent settlers in present-day Hood River County filed a donation land claim in 1854. The first school was built in 1863 and a road from The Dalles

The Dalles, Oregon

The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...

 was completed in 1867. By 1880 there were 17 families living in the valley. By the latter part of the nineteenth century farmers of Japanese, Finnish, German, and French ethnicity had settled in the valley.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the people of the Hood River region in the northwest portion of Wasco County

Wasco County, Oregon

Wasco County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe who lived on the south side of the Columbia River. In 2010, its population was 25,213...

 expressed a desire for political separation from the parent county. The passage of a statewide initiative established Hood River as the thirty-fourth county of the state. It was made official by a governor's proclamation on June 23, 1908. The Columbia River Highway was completed in 1922 from Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 to The Dalles, improving access between both those cities as well as to Hood River.

In response to controversy surrounding county approval of locating a destination resort at Cooper Spur ski area on Mount Hood

Mount Hood

Mount Hood, called Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe, is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. It was formed by a subduction zone and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States...

, on November 5, 2003 62% of the voters approved a measure

Initiative

In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...

 requiring voter approval on residential developments of 25 units or more on land zoned

Zoning

Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...

 for forest use. Opponents claimed that this measure was not enforceable and would end up in court.

Incorporated cities

• Cascade Locks
  Cascade Locks, Oregon
  Cascade Locks is a city in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. The city took its name from a set of locks built to improve navigation past the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River. The U.S. federal government approved the plan for the locks in 1875, construction began in 1878, and the locks...
  
  
• Hood River
  Hood River, Oregon
  The city of Hood River is the seat of Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is a port on the Columbia River, and is named for the nearby Hood River. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,831...
  
  

Unincorporated communities and CDPs

• Dee
  Dee, Oregon
  Dee is an unincorporated community and former company town in Hood River County, Oregon, United States, on Oregon Route 281, about 11 miles south of Hood River.-History:...
  
  
• Lenz
  Lenz, Hood River County, Oregon
  Lenz is an unincorporated community in Hood River County, Oregon, United States just west of Oregon Route 35 about a mile and a half east of Odell. This station on the Mount Hood Railroad was named after John Lenz, an early settler. Lenz Butte and Lenz Creek are nearby. The name of the station has...
  
  
• Lost Lake Resort
• Mount Hood
  Mount Hood, Oregon
  Mount Hood is an unincorporated community in Hood River County, Oregon, United States about three miles northeast of Parkdale on Oregon Route 35. Mount Hood is also the terminus of Oregon Route 281, the Hood River Highway....
  
  
• Oak Grove
• Odell
  Odell, Oregon
  Odell is an unincorporated community in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Odell as a census-designated place . The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the...
  
  
• Parkdale
  Parkdale, Oregon
  Parkdale is an unincorporated community in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Parkdale as a census-designated place . The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with...
  
  
• Pine Grove
  Pine Grove, Hood River County, Oregon
  Pine Grove is an unincorporated community in Hood River County, Oregon, United States on Oregon Route 35 in the middle Hood River Valley near Neal Creek. It is about five miles south of the city of Hood River and has a Hood River ZIP code.-History:...
  
  
• Rockford

Stations and other locales

• Bloucher
  Bloucher, Oregon
  Bloucher is an unincorporated historic locale in Hood River County, Oregon, United States, west of Odell.Bloucher was a station on the Mount Hood Railroad named for local resident H. E. Bloucher. It was also known as Bloucher Spur.-External links:...
  
   (historical)
• Conway (historical)
• Dukes Valley (historical)
• Holstein (historical)
• Summit
• Wyeth
  Wyeth, Oregon
  Wyeth is an unincorporated locale in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is the site of a campground area in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area off Interstate 84 ....
  
  

Government and infrastructure

The Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Facility (Norcor), a short-term jail, serves Hood River, Gilliam

Gilliam County, Oregon

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,915 people, 819 households, and 543 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile . There were 1,043 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile...

, Sherman

Sherman County, Oregon

Sherman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for William Tecumseh Sherman, a Union general in the American Civil War. In 2010, its population was 1,765. The seat of the county is Moro. The largest city is Wasco....

, and Wasco

Wasco County, Oregon

Wasco County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe who lived on the south side of the Columbia River. In 2010, its population was 25,213...

 counties.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hood River County, Oregon
  National Register of Historic Places listings in Hood River County, Oregon
  The following list presents the full set of National Register of Historic Places listings in Hood River County, Oregon, and offers brief descriptive information about each of them. The National Register of Historic Places recognizes buildings, structures, objects, sites, and districts of national,...
  
  

External links

• Hood River County, Oregon (official website)
• Hood River County listing in the Oregon Blue Book
  Oregon Blue Book
  The Oregon Blue Book is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon copyrighted by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. As Governor Ted Kulongoski notes in his introduction for the 2005–2006 edition, it "provides...