Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetOR-BAKER-CITY-OR · Baker City, OR 10,177 pop · income 32nd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Baker City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Baker City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Alpena · lowest
47,604
Alpena · lowest
47,604 median HH income
40.3% of the leader · rank #1
Baker City · this city
58,125
Baker City · this city
58,125 median HH income
49.2% of the leader · rank #2
Horn Hill · near
58,125
Horn Hill · near
58,125 median HH income
49.2% of the leader · rank #3
Manokotak · near
58,125
Manokotak · near
58,125 median HH income
49.2% of the leader · rank #4
Pinal · near
58,125
Pinal · near
58,125 median HH income
49.2% of the leader · rank #5
Lewiston · near
58,125
Lewiston · near
58,125 median HH income
49.2% of the leader · rank #6
Alderwood Man… · highest
118,077
Alderwood Man… · highest
118,077 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Baker City on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 10,177.
Nationally, Baker City sits in the 32nd percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
32nd
percentile, household income
52nd
percentile, home value
66th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Baker City, OR
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 10,177 residents in Baker City, a small town within Oregon. Households in Baker City report a median income of $58,125 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 7.7%. Baker City's housing stock carries a median value of $233,500, and the median resident age is 45.2 years. About 29.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 48.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 28 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Rapid Growth), up 22% from five years earlier.
Oregon carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Oregon at 103.4 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Above Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,425 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $185 across Oregon, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 63.4 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Baker City's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to population change to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Baker City, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Baker City?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 7.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in Baker City?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Which cities make useful reference points for Baker City?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Oregon, the closest population matches are Molalla (10,168 residents, $83,996 income); Astoria (10,162 residents, $70,043 income); North Bend (10,231 residents, $72,483 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Snohomish, WA (10,177 residents); Alpena, MI (10,178 residents); Cross Lanes, WV (10,172 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Is Baker City growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -65 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 28 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Baker City?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 11 public schools within the city match. 29.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
7.7%
Bachelor's degree+
29.1%
Matched public schools
11
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 7.7% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
103.4 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Oregon average
F
City profile score · Baker City, OR
39/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share C
29.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate D
7.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$58,125
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living F
103.4 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Baker City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 56/100 (C) · 29.1%
Poverty rate: 49/100 (D) · 7.7%
Household income: 32/100 (F) · $58,125
Cost of living: 25/100 (F) · 103.4 index
How does Baker City compare to other US cities?
Baker City measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income32% higher than other cities
Home value52% pricier than other cities
Median rent66% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Baker City against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Oregon only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Oregon-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Baker City near the bottom of Oregon's cities
Among the 395 Oregon cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Baker City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Baker City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#255 of 364
30th percentile in Oregon
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 395
0th percentile in Oregon
Median Home Value
#294 of 366
20th percentile in Oregon
Poverty Rate
#159 of 395
59th percentile in Oregon
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#127 of 395
68th percentile in Oregon
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Oregon only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
32nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Baker City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$233,50048th percentilemore affordable than 48% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Baker City's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,754 of 15,516
More affordable than 31% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,003 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 4.0×, Baker City sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,754 of 15,516 and #2,003 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$58,125Baker City, OR median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Baker City, OR median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Baker City, OR.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)29.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)7.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)48.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
10,177
Median Income
$58,125
Median Home Value
$233,500
Median Age
45.2
Poverty Rate
7.7%
Labor force participation
48.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
29.1%
Schools
Total Schools
11
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Baker City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
10,136 residents
2021
10,222 residents
2022
10,242 residents
2023
10,214 residents
2024
10,134 residents
2025
10,071 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Rapid Growth
Total Permits (2024)
28
housing units authorized
Single-Family
26
detached homes
Multifamily
2
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
2.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
23
23
0
$5.3M
2020
27
27
0
$6.3M
2021
59
59
0
$13.4M
2022
66
50
16
$15.8M
2023
42
30
12
$14.1M
2024
28
26
2
$8.0M
Permit volume increased 22% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.5%
Carpool
4.1%
Public Transit
0.2%
Walk
6.9%
Work from Home
8.4%
Other
1.9%
Based on 3,941 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Oregon statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $185
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Oregon at $185 (electricity about $85 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Oregon statewide averages, not a meter reading for Baker City. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Oregon's BEA cost-of-living index is 103.4 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Baker City is $1,425/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Oregon statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 63.4 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Oregon statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Baker City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Baker City compares to similar-size Oregon cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.