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About La Pine
La Pine is a small city in southern Deschutes County, about 30 miles southwest of Bend along U.S. Highway 97. It sits in the valley of the Little Deschutes River at about 4,229 feet. Wikipedia reports that the area was first called Rosland, that its post office opened in 1897, and that voters approved incorporating the city in 2006, with incorporation on December 7, 2006.
La Pine in numbers
| Measure | La Pine |
|---|---|
| Population, 2020 Census | 2,512 |
| Population, ACS 2020-2024 | 2,547 |
| Population, Portland State University certified estimate, July 1, 2025 | 3,223 (+28.3% since 2020) |
| Households | 1,070 |
| Owner-occupied share of households | 58.4% |
| Median household income | $58,365 |
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $363,800 |
| Median age | 45.6 |
| Owner-occupied homes valued at $300,000 or more | 421 of 625 (67.4%) |
| Business establishments, ZIP 97739 | 285 |
| Paid employees at those establishments | 1,741 |
A plain reading
La Pine is one of the faster-growing places in this network. The Portland State University estimate is 28.3 percent above the 2020 Census count, although the ACS 2020-2024 average (2,547) is much closer to the 2020 count because it averages five years. Median household income is lower than in Bend, and so is the median home value, at $363,800. About two in three owner-occupied homes are valued at $300,000 or more.
In 2023 the most common kinds of business by number of establishments in ZIP 97739 were construction (83), retail trade (32), accommodation and food services (31) and health care and social assistance (22).
Read the margins
These are survey estimates for a small city, and they carry margins of error. For La Pine, the median household income is plus or minus $4,342, the median home value is plus or minus $41,391, and the median age is plus or minus 12.2 years. The count of owner homes valued at $300,000 or more rests on only 625 owner-occupied homes. Treat each figure as a range.
How we got these numbers
- Households, tenure, income, home value, age and home-value brackets come from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates for 2020-2024, tables B01003, B11001, B25003, B19013, B25077, B01002 and B25075, read through Census Reporter (place 4141050). Dollars are 2024 inflation-adjusted ACS dollars.
- The 2020 population is the 2020 Census count for La Pine city, read from Census TIGERweb. The 2025 figure is the Portland State University Population Research Center certified estimate for July 1, 2025, as published by the League of Oregon Cities.
- Business counts are from Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023 for ZIP 97739. They are by ZIP code, not by city limit, and they leave out businesses with no paid employees. The Census adds a small amount of random noise to employment counts.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year data (2020-2024)
- Census Reporter
- Census TIGERweb
- Census ZIP Code Business Patterns
- Portland State University Population Research Center
- League of Oregon Cities, certified population estimates
- La Pine, Oregon (Wikipedia), for history and geography
Also from Oregon Living: Oregon Living in Bend, Oregon · Oregon Living in Redmond, Oregon · Oregon Living in Sisters, Oregon · Oregon Living in Prineville, Oregon · Oregon Living in Sunriver, Oregon.