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.

CountyFIPS codeCounty seatEst.OriginEtymologyPopulationAreaMap
Baker CountyBaker City1862Eastern portion of Wasco CountyNamed in honor of Edward Dickinson Baker, who died in combat while serving as Oregon senator.16,6583,068 sq mi (7,946 km2)
Benton CountyCorvallis1847Polk CountyNamed for Thomas Hart Benton, senator and advocate of U.S. annexation of the Oregon Country.97,728676 sq mi (1,751 km2)
Clackamas CountyOregon City1843One of the original four districts of the Oregon CountryNamed for the Clackamas people, a local Native American tribe.426,2801,868 sq mi (4,838 km2)
Clatsop CountyAstoria1844Northern and western portions of the original Twality DistrictNamed for the Clatsop, a local Native American tribe.40,926827 sq mi (2,142 km2)
Columbia CountySaint Helens1854Northern half of Washington CountyNamed for the neighboring Columbia River.54,091657 sq mi (1,702 km2)
Coos CountyCoquille1853Western parts of Umpqua and Jackson CountiesNamed for the Coos people, a regional Native American group.63,9921,600 sq mi (4,144 km2)
Crook CountyPrineville1882Southern part of Wasco CountyNamed for George Crook, a Union army officer in the Civil War and Indian Wars.27,5642,980 sq mi (7,718 km2)
Curry CountyGold Beach1855Coos CountyNamed for George Law Curry, governor of the Oregon Territory.22,6211,627 sq mi (4,214 km2)
Deschutes CountyBend1916Southern part of Crook CountyNamed for the Deschutes River from French Riviere des Chutes, 'River of the falls'.213,0723,018 sq mi (7,817 km2)
Douglas CountyRoseburg1852Portion of Umpqua County which lay east of the Coast Range summitNamed for senator Stephen A. Douglas, a supporter of Oregon's admission to the union.111,9515,037 sq mi (13,046 km2)
Gilliam CountyCondon1885Eastern third of Wasco CountyNamed for Oregon pioneer Cornelius Gilliam (1798–1848).1,9711,204 sq mi (3,118 km2)
Grant CountyCanyon City1864Parts of old Wasco and old Umatilla countiesNamed for Ulysses S. Grant prior to his election as president, in recognition of his military service.7,0754,529 sq mi (11,730 km2)
Harney CountyBurns1889Southern two-thirds of Grant CountyNamed in honor of cavalry officer William S. Harney.7,38010,135 sq mi (26,250 km2)
Hood River CountyHood River1908Northwest portion of Wasco CountyNamed for the Hood River.23,720522 sq mi (1,352 km2)
Jackson CountyMedford1852Southwestern portion of Lane County and unorganized area south of Douglas and Umpqua Counties.Named for President Andrew Jackson.221,7952,785 sq mi (7,213 km2)
Jefferson CountyMadras1914Crook CountyNamed for the adjacent Mount Jefferson, itself named for President Thomas Jefferson.25,7401,781 sq mi (4,613 km2)
Josephine CountyGrants Pass1856Western half of Jackson CountyNamed for Virginia "Josephine" Rollins, the first female settler in the area.87,8671,640 sq mi (4,248 km2)
Klamath CountyKlamath Falls1882Western part of Lake CountyNamed for the Klamath people, a local Native American tribe.70,2745,945 sq mi (15,397 km2)
Lake CountyLakeview1874Jackson and Wasco CountiesNamed for the large number of local lakes and springs.8,1877,940 sq mi (20,565 km2)
Lane CountyEugene1851Southern part of Linn County and the portion of Benton County east of Umpqua CountyNamed for Joseph Lane, the first governor of the Oregon Territory.381,5844,554 sq mi (11,795 km2)
Lincoln CountyNewport1893Western portion of Benton County and Polk CountyNamed for President Abraham Lincoln.50,636980 sq mi (2,538 km2)
Linn CountyAlbany1847Southern portion of Champoeg (later Marion) CountyNamed for Lewis F. Linn, sponsor of the Donation Land Act.132,8432,291 sq mi (5,934 km2)
Malheur CountyVale1887Southern portion of Baker CountyNamed for the Malheur River, itself from French Riviere au Malheur, 'Unfortunate River', named by French fur trappers whose belongings were stolen along the river.32,2619,888 sq mi (25,610 km2)
Marion CountySalem1843One of the original four districts of the Oregon territoryNamed for Francis Marion (1732-1795), a Revolutionary War general.355,7771,185 sq mi (3,069 km2)
Morrow CountyHeppner1885Western portion of Umatilla County and a small portion of eastern Wasco CountyNamed for state representative Jackson L. Morrow, an advocate for the formation of the county.12,6022,033 sq mi (5,265 km2)
Multnomah CountyPortland1854Eastern part of Washington and the northern part of Clackamas countiesNamed for the Multnomah people, a Chinookan band from Sauvie Island.795,391435 sq mi (1,127 km2)
Polk CountyDallas1845Yamhill DistrictNamed for President James Knox Polk, who was serving during the county's creation.90,037741 sq mi (1,919 km2)
Sherman CountyMoro1889Northeast corner of Wasco CountyNamed for Union general William Tecumseh Sherman.2,051823 sq mi (2,132 km2)
Tillamook CountyTillamook1853Clatsop, Yamhill and Polk CountiesNamed for the Tillamook people, a Native American tribe.27,3841,102 sq mi (2,854 km2)
Umatilla CountyPendleton1862Central portion of Wasco CountyNamed for the adjacent Umatilla River, derived from a Sahaptin, word possibly meaning laughing waters.81,1193,215 sq mi (8,327 km2)
Union CountyLa Grande1864Baker CountyNamed for the town of Union, itself named for the Union during the Civil War.25,9002,037 sq mi (5,276 km2)
Wallowa CountyEnterprise1887Eastern portion of Union County.Named after the Nez Perce wallowa, a tripod of poles used to support fish nets.7,5953,145 sq mi (8,146 km2)
Wasco CountyThe Dalles1854Parts of Clackamas, Lane, Linn and Marion countiesNamed for the Wasco people, a Native American tribe.26,3102,381 sq mi (6,167 km2)
Washington CountyHillsboro1843One of the original four districts of the Oregon Country (as Twality District)Named for president George Washington.611,708724 sq mi (1,875 km2)
Wheeler CountyFossil1899Grant County, Gilliam County, and Crook CountyNamed for Henry H. Wheeler, an early Oregon mail carrier.1,4721,715 sq mi (4,442 km2)
Yamhill CountyMcMinnville1843One of the original four districts of the Oregon CountryNamed for the Yamhill band of Kalapuya, a local Native American group.110,024716 sq mi (1,854 km2)

See also

Further reading

  • writer, Statf (2022). (PDF). ce.naco.org. National Association of Counties (NACo).

External links

  • from the Oregon Archives
  • Holman, Frederick van Voorhies (March 1910). "Oregon Counties, Their Creations and the Origins of Their Names". Oregon Historical Quarterly.