[quote style=”2″]Demographic Profile Shows Hermiston’s Strengths, Weaknesses[/quote]
Hermiston is a young city compared to the rest of the state with a median age of 32.4 years versus 39.3 years for the overall state average.
That was just one interesting tidbit found in demographic profile of Hermiston prepared for the Hermiston Futures Task Force. The task force is working on a Livable Hermiston Vision Project to identify community priorities for the next five to 10 years in an effort to attract more high-skill professionals to the area.
Here’s a look at some of the community data compiled for the task force:
Growth
Along with being a young city in terms of the age of its residents, Hermiston continues to experience steady growth. The latest population projections show Hermiston with 17,400 residents, but growth has slowed in the past five years to just 0.8 percent annually compared to 2.1 percent population growth between 2000 and 2010, which was nearly double the state average over the same decade. And while population growth has slowed in recent years, data suggests it will pick back up in the next five years.
Demographics
Hermiston’s population is just over 71 percent white and just over 37 percent Hispanic or Latino. The state average is 87 percent white and just under 13 percent Hispanic or Latino.
Back to the Future
Along with having a younger-than-average population overall, Hermiston has a surprisingly high percentage of people between the ages of 0-20 – 35 percent – compared to the state average of 26 percent. And, according to the data, Hermiston, unlike many rural communities, is well represented by young and middle-age working adults between the ages of 25-44.
Education
This is where Hermiston falls short compared to the rest of the state. Hermiston adults are nearly twice as likely as the rest of the state to have not graduated from high school. According to the data, nearly 19 percent of Hermiston residents 25 or older have not graduate from high school compared to 10 percent for the all of Oregonians. Only 11 percent of Hermiston adults have a bachelor’s degree or better, compared to 30 percent of the adults statewide.
Households
There are more people living in homes in Hermiston than statewide. Hermiston averages 2.76 persons per household compared to 2.45 for the rest of the state. Also, in comparison to the statewide average, 56 percent of homes are owned by the residents, compared to 62 percent statewide. Furthermore, at just under $140,000, median values for owner-occupied housing in Hermiston are only 54 percent of the statewide median value of nearly $260,000.
Economic Indicators
• Hermiston’s median household income is $49,340, which is right near the state’s median income of $49,960. However, Hermiston’s per capita income is at $20,190, far below the statewide figure of $26,800. At the lower end of the income scale, an estimated 14 percent of Hermiston families live below the poverty level compared to the stateside figure of 12 percent.
• Hermiston attracts consumers from out of the area, but there are several categories where Hermiston is losing local business to other communities. Those categories include furniture/appliances, health/personal care, apparel, sporting goods/hobby and dining. The data suggests significant shares of these purchases by local residents are being made in other communities along the I-84 corridor in Oregon or along I-82 up to the Tri-Cities.
• While tourism data is available only for the county, numbers show tourism spending in the county has been increasing at a slower rate than statewide. “Destination spending” in Umatilla County since 2010 has increased by 2.7 percent annually compared to the annual growth rate of 4.7 percent statewide.
The data compiled gives the Hermiston Futures Task Force an overall picture of where it stands and where it might want to go in the future.
Hermiston has a young, diverse work-oriented population and is located at the center of a regional transportation hub. Yet, it also faces education, housing and retail challenges. In the coming months, the task force will use the demographic profile to work with the community to outline projects that make Hermiston a more livable community.
