County Maps US

Malheur County, Oregon

A county in Oregon, ranked 20 of 36 by population.

CountyFIPS 41045

Within Oregon
Malheur County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Vale, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

Download SVGFull Oregon map downloads

Population
32,261
+611 (+1.9%) since 2020
Land area
9,888
square miles. A further 0.4% of the total area is water
Population density
3.3
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Vale
Seat of county government.
Established
1887
138 years ago
Largest city
Ontario city
Population 11,957.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Malheur County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Malheur County, Oregon from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 371 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Malheur County ranks

Position among the 36 counties of Oregon, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn OregonNationally
Population32,26120th of 361,392nd of 3,144
Land area9,888 sq mi2nd of 3625th of 3,144
Population density3.3 per sq mi29th of 362,881st of 3,144
Median household income$54,51936th of 362,503rd of 3,143

Full data for Malheur County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population32,261Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202031,650Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?31,577Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area9,888 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area42.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area9,930 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?3.3 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$54,519American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$248,900American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age36.1American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households10,292American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units11,716American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
+131
447 births, 316 deaths
Net migration
-241
More people moved out than moved in.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 8 areas bordering Malheur County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Harney CountyOregon143 mi7,380
Owyhee CountyIdaho116 mi12,661
Baker CountyOregon73 mi16,658
Humboldt CountyNevada60 mi17,267
Washington CountyIdaho27 mi11,583
Payette CountyIdaho27 mi27,824
Canyon CountyIdaho17 mi275,123
Grant CountyOregon15 mi7,075

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 36 counties of Oregon

Open the interactive Oregon county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.