115 Tejaka /PO Box 427
Enterprise, OR 97828
(541) 426- 4622
(800) 585-4121
Fax (541) 426-2032

County & City
Government –

(Wallowa County area code 541)

Wallowa County Courthouse
101 South River Street
Enterprise, OR  97828

County Departments:

Commissioners,
426-4543 Ext. 11

Mike Hayward, Chair
Ben Boswell, Commissioner
Dan DeBoie, Commissioner

Assessor Office
Gay Fregulia
426-4543 Ext. 36

County Clerk
Dana Roberts
426-4543 Ext.15

Planning Department
Lance Bailey
426-4543 ext. 24

Public Works, Roads
Russ McMartin
426-3332

Local City Governments: 

City of Enterprise
Mayor Irving Nuss
426-4196

City of Joseph
Mayor Peggy Kite-Martin
432-3832

City of Lostine
Mayor Craig Norton
569-2415

City of Wallowa
Mayor Ron Gay
886-2422

Business Services –

(Wallowa County area code 541)

Wallowa County
Chamber of Commerce

Vicki Searles, Executive Director
PO Box 427
Enterprise, OR  97828
Phone: 426-4622

Wallowa County
Business Facilitation

Myron Kirkpatrick, Facilitator
PO Box 995
Joseph, OR  97846
E-mail: myronk@uwtc.net  
Phone: 426-5858

Wallowa Resources
Nils Christoffersen, Director
PO Box 274/114 SW First Street
Enterprise, OR  97828
Phone: 426-8053

Small Business Development Center
Art Hill, Director
Blue Mountain Community College
2411 NW Carden Avenue
Morrow Hall Room M-11
Pendleton, OR  97801
E-mail: ahill@bluecc.edu
Phone:

Northeast Oregon
Economic Development District

Lisa Dawson, Director
101 NE First Street, Suite 100
Enterprise, OR   97828
Phone:

Training & Employment Consortium
Marilyn Dalton, Director
Prairie Creek Center
PO Box 585/104 Litch Street
Enterprise, OR  97828
Phone: 426-3149

Social Services –

(Wallowa County area code 541)

Building Healthy Families
103 N Hwy 82, Suite #2
Enterprise, OR 97828
426-9411

Child Care Resource & Referral
207 NW Logan/PO Box 85
Enterprise, OR   97828
426 2030

Commission on Children & Families
101 S. River Street, Drawer 10
Enterprise, OR  97828
426-4543 ext. 44

Community Connection of
NE Oregon

702 NW First
Enterprise, OR  97828
426-3840

Employment Department
Prairie Creek Center
104 Litch St.
Enterprise, OR  97828
426-4972

Health Department
758 NW First
Enterprise, OR  97828
426-4848

Seniors & People w/Disabilities
104 Litch Street
Enterprise, OR  97828
426-3155

Training & Employment  Consortium
Prairie Creek Center
104 Litch Street
Enterprise, OR  97828
426-3149

2006
Real Estate – 

Price range
Average price of unit type:

Residential Homes $153,913
Manufactured Homes $110,000
Property Lots $110,000
Commercial Lands $240,180

Average cost of housing by size:

1 Bedroom Home: $68,570
2 Bedroom Home: $93,851
3 Bedroom Home: $127,543
Larger Homes: $204,613+

Property Taxes:

Enterprise 17.12%
Joseph 13.16%
Lostine 11.94%
Wallowa 14.38%

Airport Services –

Enterprise Municipal Airport
(541) 426-3562
Length 2850 ft., width 50ft., paved
Elev. 3957 ft., single/light twin aircrafts

Joseph State Airport
(503) 378-4880
Length 5200 ft, width 60ft., paved
Elev. 4122 ft., 2 engine planes/light jets

Eastern Oregon Regional Airport
(541) 276-7754
Located in Pendleton OR
Commuter services, 115 mi from Enterprise

Lewiston-Nez Perce Regional Airport
(208) 746-7962
Located in Lewiston, ID
Commuter services, 85 mi from Enterprise

Tri Cities Airport
(509) 547-6352
3601 N 20th Ave
Pasco, WA 99301
www.portofpasco.org
Full passenger services,
148 mi from Enterprise

 

Economic and Community Profile

Wallowa County, Oregon
2008 Economic & Community Profile

Population

Wallowa County Land Area:
3,153 square miles

Wallowa County Map
Population 2000 2002 2004 2006 2007
Enterprise 1,895 1,920 1,940 1,945 1,940
Joseph 1,055 1,070 1,080 1,095 1,100
Lostine 265 250 250 250 250
Wallowa 870 870 870 870 885
Unincorporated 3,165 3,040 3,010 2,980 2,955
Totals:          
Wallowa County 7,250 7,150 7,150 7,140 7,130
 

Estimated Driving Times and Distances:

Time & Mileage to Wallowa County (Enterprise)

Starting at: Miles Hours Starting at: Miles Hours
Astoria, Oregon 425 8 hours Boise, Idaho 234 5 hours
Baker City, Oregon 107 2 hours, 30 minutes Denver, Colorado 1061 18 hours
Bend, Oregon 336 7 hours 15 minutes Lewiston, Idaho 87 2 hours 15 minutes
Eugene, Oregon 426 8 hours Phoenix, Arizona 1276 24 hours
La Grande, Oregon 65 1 hour 45 minutes Reno, Nevada 601 13 hours
Medford, Oregon 558 10 hours 30 minutes San Francisco, California 818 16 hours 30 minutes
Pendleton, Oregon 115 2 hours 30 minutes Seattle, Washington 397 7 hours 30 minutes
Portland, Oregon 324 6 hours 15 minutes Spokane, Washington 191 5 hours 30 minutes
Salem, Oregon 371 7 hours 15 minutes Pasco, Washington 148 4 hours 30 minutes

Wallowa County Climate

A mountain range encircles the more populated centers of the county; protecting the valleys from severe weather impacts of regional storms. Summers are warm and pleasant. Extreme temperatures in the high 90°-100°’s are typical for short periods in late July and August. The major portion of precipitation emerges in late spring and fall. Light snow can be expected in the valleys by late November and recurs periodically until April. Brief heavy snow may occur in the valleys from November to February. Generally, heavy snow occurs at the higher elevations; which produce snow packs that often remain year around on high mountain peaks of the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Source: George Taylor, State Climatologists & Cadd Hale & Sarah Joos, Publication Assistants

Joseph Sta. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Normal Monthly Maximum Temp 37 40 46 53 60 67 79 80 69 57 44 35
Normal Monthly Minimum Temp 18 20 24 29 36 42 47 46 40 31 25 17
Extreme Monthly High Temp 57 59 69 76 82 87 95 94 94 82 70 54
Extreme Monthly Low Temp -22 -25 2 11 18 26 31 33 20 11 7 -17
Normal Precipitation Totals 1.16 .97 1.31 1.59 2.71 1.64 1.29 .74 1.68 1.37 1.56 1.03
Avg. Ground Snow Depth 2.6 2.6 1.3 .3 - - - - - - .4 .7
Extreme Ground Snow Depth 18 11 10 6 2 - - - - 3 6 7
Normal Snowfall Totals 11.5 6.1 9.5 5.5 .4 - - - - 1.5 5.6 5.8

General Demographics

Wallowa County land area in square miles 3,153
Population (2007) 7,130
Population density (persons per square mile) 2.3
Population percent of the State 0.2%

Source: PSU, Population Research Center & Oregon Employment Department

County Age Groups (2006)

Children, Ages 0-17 years 20.3%
Adults, ages 18-64 years 59.4%
Adults, ages 65+ years 20.3%

Source: PSU, Population Research Center

Community Age Groups (Wallowa County)

Age Groups 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Under 5 years of age 761 423 547 473 354
Ages 5-19 years 1,986 1,815 1,646 1,487 1,537
Ages 20-44 years 2,066 1,631 2,402 2,215 1,800
Ages 45-64 years 1,566 1,552 1,598 1,499 2,171
65+ years 723 826 1,237 1,080 1,364
Median Age 30.9 34.8 33.5 37.6 44.4

Population Characteristics (2006)

Population  
White – European population 97.4%
Hispanic population 2.1 %
American Indian/Alaskan Native Population 0.8%
Black American population 0.01%
Asian population 0.3%
Other two or more races 1.4%

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Economic Indicators (payroll)

2006 Average Annual Payroll % in State 66.2%
1996-2006 Change in Annual Payroll +23%

Source: Oregon Employment Department

Income (Per Capita Income)

2005 Income Per Capita Income $28,300
2002 Income Per Capita Income $24,005
2000 Income Per Capita Income $21,891
2005 Median Household Income $36,058
2000 Median Household Income $33,257

Source US Census Bureau; Bureau of Economic Analysis

Size of Firm (Private Sector)

0-4 employees 69.4%
5-9 employees 19.8%
10-19 employees 7.2%
20-49 employees 3.5%

Source: Oregon Employment Department

Number of Employers (2006)

Wallowa County NumberEntities TotalPayroll Average Pay
Total of All Industry 417 $61,578,898 $25,196
   Total Private 366 $38,979,087 $22,172
   Total Government 51 $22,599,902 $32,944

Source: Oregon Employment Department

Civilian Labor Force

Wallowa County 2000 2002 2005 2006
Total Labor Force 3,498 3,684 3,574 3,655
Total Employment 3,234 3,369 3,306 3,655
% of Unemployment 7.5% 8.6% 7.5% 6.5%

Source: Oregon Employment Department

Employment
Labor Force by Industry

PRIVATE (Percentage representing labor force) 2006 2007
Natural Resources & Mining 2.8% 3.2%
Construction 8.1% 7.6%
Manufacturing 8.9% 7.6%
Wholesale & Retail Trade 15.4% 15.7%
Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities 3.6% 3.6%
Information 1.2% 1.2%
Financial Activities 6.1% 6.0%
Professional & Business Services 3.6% 4.0%
Education & Health Services 7.3% 7.6%
Leisure & Hospitality 10.1% 10.8%
Other Services 3.2% 3.2%
GOVERNMENT    
Federal 4.5% 4.4%
State 5.3% 5.2%
Local Government 19.4% 20.1%

Source: Oregon Employment Department

Employed Persons By Occupation (2000)

Wallowa County Percentage
Management, Professional, Related 32.9%
Service Occupations 14.2%
Sales & Office Occupations 24.2%
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry 4.7%
Construction, Extraction, Maintenance 10.0%
Production, Transportation, Material Moving 14.1%

Source: US Census Bureau

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2006 – 2010 Industry
Employment Forecast-
Region 13, Baker, Union & Wallowa

NORTHEAST REGION 13 Year2006 Year2010 C*
Total Nonfarm Employment 18,080 20,210 12%
Total private 13,410 15,120 13%
Logging and mining 230 220 -4%
Construction 920 1,030 12%
Manufacturing 2,460 2,520 4%
Trade, Transportation, Utilities 3,530 3,860 9%
Wholesale, retail 2,750 3,050 11%
Transportation, warehousing, utilities 780 800 3%
Information 260 270 4%
Financial Activities 740 820 11%
Professional and Business Services 810 950 17$
Educational and Health Services 2,140 2,730 28%
Leisure and Hospitality 1,740 2,020 16%
Other Services 580 660 14%
Government 4,670 5,090 9%
Federal Government 580 560 -3%
State Government 1,660 1,860 12%
Local Government 2,430 2,660 9%

Source: Oregon Employment Department
C: Percent of change or difference

The above Projections: “Region 13 Employment Projections by Industry and Occupation 2006-2010”
(OED Workforce and Economic Research)

Contacts:
Art Ayre, art.l.ayre@state.or.us

Brenda Turner, brenda.p.turner@state.or.us

Labor vs. Non-Labor

1970-2005 Percent of Change

Income Type
(income in millions of 2005 dollars)
1970
Income
% of
Total
1995
Income
% of
Total
2005
Income
 % of
Total
Total Personal Income 118 100 174 100 197 100
Labor Sources 84 71 88 51 104 53
Non-Labor Sources 34 29 86 49 93 47
Dividends, interest, and rent 21 18 50 29 50 26
Personal current transfer receipts 13 11 36 20 43 22

Source: Headwaters Economics, Economic Profile System (2007)

Sole Proprietors

1970-2005 Changes in Wages and Salaries vs. Proprietors

Income Type
(income in millions of 2005 dollars)
  1970
Income
 %  of
Total
  1995
Income
 % of
Total
  2005
Income
 % of
Total
Labor Sources 84 100 88 100 104 100
Wage and Salary Disbursements 42 50 58 66 65 62
Proprietors’ Income 37 44 25 28 28 27
Nonfarm Proprietors’ Income 21 25 26 30 28 27
Farm Proprietors’ Income 17 20 (1) -1 (0) 0
Number of
(Proprietors vs. wage and salary jobs)
  1970 %  of
Total
  1995   2005 % of
Total
Total Full or Part-time employment 2,871 100 4,355 4,729 100
Wage and Salary Disbursements 1,651 57.5% 2,438 2,674 56.5%
Number of Proprietors 1,220 42.5% 1,917 2,055 43.5%
Number of Nonfarm Proprietors 558 19.4 1,385 1,513 32.0
Number of Farm Proprietors 662 23.1 532 542 11.5

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