Region 4 consists of three counties in the heart of western Oregon including a portion of the agriculturally rich Willamette Valley and 60 miles of Pacific coastline. Linn and Benton counties are in the Willamette Valley, along Interstate 5, just south of Salem and north of Eugene. Lincoln County extends westward from Benton County to the Pacific Ocean.
In 2003, the region's population reached 230,400. The biggest cities in the region are Albany (43,600) in Linn County and Corvallis (52,950) in Benton County. Newport, on the coast, is Lincoln County's biggest town with 9,740 residents in 2003.
At one time all three counties had natural resource based economies with emphasis in agriculture, fishing, logging, lumber, and wood products manufacturing. Today, despite similar location and geographic features, the three counties are very different in their industrial structure and measures of economic well being. Benton County's economic base is primarily higher education and high-tech manufacturing, Lincoln has a strong tourism industry, and Linn County has a large diversity of manufacturing.
Region 4 consists of three counties in the heart of western Oregon including a portion of the agriculturally rich Willamette Valley and 60 miles of Pacific coastline. Linn and Benton counties are in the Willamette Valley, along Interstate 5, just south of Salem and north of Eugene. Lincoln County extends westward from Benton County to the Pacific Ocean.