26,507 people (2024 Census estimate, −0.4% since 2020)
2,381 square miles of land · 11 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
20 active community water systems list Wasco County in the area they serve, reporting 22,501 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| THE DALLES, CITY OF surface water · local government · OR4100869 | 13,010 served |
| CHENOWITH PUD groundwater · public/private · OR4100867 | 4,500 served |
| BARLOW WATER DISTRICT groundwater · local government · OR4100909 | 900 served |
| YOUNG LIFE surface water · private · OR4101246 | 852 served |
| DUFUR, CITY OF groundwater · local government · OR4100261 | 610 served |
| MOSIER, CITY OF groundwater · local government · OR4100543 | 468 served |
| MAUPIN, CITY OF groundwater · local government · OR4100510 | 420 served |
| FOLEY LAKES MOBILE HOME PARK groundwater · private · OR4100871 | 300 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 68 people were held in Wasco County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 425 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 70.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
3 school districts have their office in Wasco County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $51.1 million — $48.9 million to run schools, about $17,223 per student, plus $824,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $14.6 million local (mostly property tax), $26.1 million state, $9.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $11.8 million.
Spent $7.7 million — $7.2 million to run schools, about $21,851 per student, plus $143,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.6 million local (mostly property tax), $4.9 million state, $453,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3.2 million.
Spent $8.8 million — $6.1 million to run schools, about $27,027 per student, plus $2.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.8 million local (mostly property tax), $4.3 million state, $535,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3.9 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Wasco County about $28.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
148 bridges in Wasco County: 38 in good condition, 94 fair, and 16 poor (10.8%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| W 10TH STREET over MILL CREEK · built 1975 | 8,665 vehicles a day |
| MILL CR RD over MILL CREEK · built 1941 | 770 vehicles a day |
| STEELE ROAD over THREEMILE CREEK · built 1950 | 598 vehicles a day |
| MOSIER CREEK ROAD over MOSIER CREEK · built 1950 | 244 vehicles a day |
| MOSIER CREEK ROAD over MOSIER CREEK · built 1950 | 229 vehicles a day |
| DUFUR GAP ROAD over MAYS CREEK · built 1945 | 152 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $55.1 million of work in Wasco County in fiscal 2025, about $2,064 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Oregon are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Wasco County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Wasco County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Oregon: the state government and every county in Oregon.
Nearby counties: Sherman County (29 mi) · Hood River County (34 mi) · Jefferson County (36 mi) · Gilliam County (46 mi) · Clackamas County (50 mi) · Klickitat County, WA (52 mi).