North Coast Income Per Person Moved Closer to the National Average
October 30, 2026Income per person rose between 4.7% and 5.6% in Clatsop, Lincoln, and Tillamook counties from 2023 to 2024, compared with 4.6% nationally. Each county also moved closer to the national income level between 2015 and 2024, although all three remained below both Oregon and the United States in 2024. These figures are not adjusted for inflation.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) measures per capita personal income (PCPI) by dividing residents’ total personal income by the population. It includes income from work, investments, and transfer benefits such as Social Security. The PCPI calculation includes everyone, whether or not they work, so it differs from an average wage or the income of a typical household.
Tillamook Came Closest to the National Income Level
Tillamook had the highest income per person among the three counties in 2024, at $64,662. Clatsop followed at $63,292, and Lincoln was at $61,973. Oregon’s PCPI was $70,823, compared with $73,204 nationally.
Recent Growth Exceeded the Long-Term Average
Lincoln’s income per person rose 5.6% from 2023 to 2024, compared with 5.1% in Clatsop and 4.7% in Tillamook. Oregon’s increase was 5.0%, while the national increase was 4.6%.
Recent growth exceeded the compound annual average from 2001 to 2024 in all three counties, Oregon, and the nation. Over that longer period, income per person grew an average of 3.8% a year in Clatsop, 3.9% in Lincoln, and 4.3% in Tillamook. The comparable rates were 4.0% in Oregon and 3.7% nationally.
The North Coast Moved Closer to the National Income Level Since 2015
Tillamook also made the largest gain relative to the nation. Its PCPI rose from 80.6% of the U.S. average in 2015 to 88.3% in 2024. Clatsop and Lincoln moved closer as well, reaching 86.5% and 84.7%.
In 1969, income per person was 90.5% of the U.S. average in Clatsop, 83.9% in Lincoln, and 80.7% in Tillamook. Oregon was at 96.6%, compared with 96.7% in 2024. Clatsop’s share remained below its 1969 level.
Property Income and Transfers Supplied More Than Half of Coastal Income
Less than half of personal income came from net earnings in the three coastal counties in 2024. Net earnings made up 49.6% of personal income in Clatsop County, 44.7% in Lincoln County, and 43.1% in Tillamook County. That compares with 58.0% statewide and 60.7% nationally.
Net earnings include wages, employer-paid benefits, and proprietors’ income, after subtracting contributions for government social insurance. Earnings are counted where people live, rather than where they work. This means a county resident may earn income from a job in another county. The rest of personal income comes from property income and transfer payments, and both made up a larger share of personal income in the three coastal counties than statewide or nationally.
Property income includes dividends, interest, and rent, while transfer receipts include benefits such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment insurance. In 2024, transfer receipts accounted for 28.0% of personal income in Clatsop, 31.7% in Lincoln, and 29.3% in Tillamook. The share was lower statewide, at 21.1%, and nationally, at 18.3%.
In Lincoln County, that means about $32 of every $100 in personal income came from transfers and $45 came from net earnings.