County facts · Land area · October 21, 2026
Largest Counties in Oregon by Area and Population
The largest Oregon counties by land area and by 2023 population, plus the smallest, county seats and a link to each official parcel map.
Looking for the largest counties in Oregon? Oregon has 36 counties covering about 95,996 square miles of land, based on the Census Bureau's 2020 Gazetteer. The largest by land area is Harney County, at about 10,134 square miles, roughly 24 times the size of the smallest, Multnomah County (431 sq mi). Measured by people instead, the largest is Multnomah County, with about 789,698 residents in the Census Bureau's July 1, 2023 estimate.
The tables below rank the counties both ways. Each row links to the county's Platbookmapper page and straight to its official parcel viewer.
Oregon counties at a glance
- Counties: 36
- Land area: about 95,996 sq mi, plus about 2,383 sq mi of water inside county lines
- Residents, 2023 estimates: about 4,233,358, or about 44 people per square mile of land
- Median county land area: about 1,826 sq mi
- With a verified public parcel viewer in our directory: 36 of 36 (36 of them through a statewide viewer)
The 10 largest Oregon counties by land area
| # | County | Seat | Land (sq mi) | 2023 pop. | People per sq mi | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harney County | Burns | 10,134 | 7,440 | 0.7 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 2 | Malheur County | Vale | 9,888 | 32,044 | 3.2 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 3 | Lake County | Lakeview | 8,139 | 8,293 | 1.0 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 4 | Klamath County | Klamath Falls | 5,950 | 70,003 | 12 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 5 | Douglas County | Roseburg | 5,036 | 112,435 | 22 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 6 | Lane County | Eugene | 4,554 | 381,181 | 84 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 7 | Grant County | Canyon City | 4,528 | 7,215 | 1.6 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 8 | Umatilla County | Pendleton | 3,215 | 80,053 | 25 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 9 | Wallowa County | Enterprise | 3,146 | 7,674 | 2.4 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 10 | Baker County | Baker City | 3,068 | 16,912 | 5.5 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
Together these 10 cover about 60% of Oregon's land area and hold about 17% of its residents.
The 10 most populous Oregon counties
| # | County | Seat | 2023 pop. | Land (sq mi) | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Multnomah County | Portland | 789,698 | 431 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 2 | Washington County | Hillsboro | 598,865 | 724 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 3 | Clackamas County | Oregon City | 423,173 | 1,871 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 4 | Lane County | Eugene | 381,181 | 4,554 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 5 | Marion County | Salem | 346,741 | 1,181 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 6 | Jackson County | Medford | 220,768 | 2,783 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 7 | Deschutes County | Bend | 208,513 | 3,018 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 8 | Linn County | Albany | 131,496 | 2,289 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 9 | Douglas County | Roseburg | 112,435 | 5,036 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| 10 | Yamhill County | McMinnville | 108,644 | 716 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
These 10 hold about 78% of Oregon's residents in the 2023 estimates.
The 5 smallest Oregon counties by land area
| County | Seat | Land (sq mi) | 2023 pop. | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multnomah County | Portland | 431 | 789,698 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| Hood River County | Hood River | 522 | 23,745 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| Columbia County | St. Helens | 659 | 53,880 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| Benton County | Corvallis | 675 | 97,713 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
| Yamhill County | McMinnville | 716 | 108,644 | ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer |
Most and least crowded
- Most people per square mile: Multnomah County, about 1,832 (then Washington County, 827, and Marion County, 294)
- Fewest people per square mile: Harney County, about 0.7 (then Wheeler County, 0.8, and Lake County, 1.0)
Counties with the most water
The Census Bureau reports water separately from land. It counts lakes, reservoirs, rivers and, for coastal and Great Lakes counties, the water inside the county boundary.
- Curry County: about 361 sq mi of water, 18% of its total area
- Clatsop County: about 255 sq mi of water, 24% of its total area
- Tillamook County: about 230 sq mi of water, 17% of its total area
Using these numbers in a land search
- Land area is not parcel count. A large rural county can hold fewer parcels than a small suburban one, so size alone says little about how busy its parcel map is.
- Search, don't scroll. In a big county, type an address, owner name or parcel number into the viewer's search box, where it has one, instead of panning across the map.
- Records follow the county line. Deeds, plats and tax bills are kept by the county where the parcel sits, so a tract that crosses a county line usually has a parcel number in each county.
- Rounded figures. Land and water areas are rounded to whole square miles. People per square mile is the 2023 estimate divided by land area.
Related guides
- Oregon county GIS websites by viewer
- Oregon plat maps
- Oregon landowner maps for hunting
- Oregon–Washington border counties
More: All Oregon counties on Platbookmapper
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer files, 2020 county land and water area.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, county totals, Vintage 2023 (July 1, 2023 estimates)
- Platbookmapper county GIS directory (live data file behind our county pages, pulled October 21, 2026) for each county's official parcel viewer.
- County seats: Wikidata (county seat property), cross-checked against Census place names.