Rainier, Oregon

City in Columbia County · population 1,911 (2020 Census)

Median home: $344,700
Household income: $66,989
Jan low / Jul high: 35° / 79°
Snow a year: 2 in
Tornadoes ≤10 mi since 1950: 7
Median age: 35.2

Rainier is a city of 1,911 people in Columbia County, Oregon. The median home is worth $344,700, below the typical Oregon town ($394,200).

How Rainier ranks

Percentile among Oregon towns with at least 500 people on The Town Files lifestyle rankings. 50 is typical for the state; 90 means better than 90% of Oregon towns.

The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025).

Homes and cost of living

The median home in Rainier is worth $344,700, below the typical Oregon town ($394,200). Homes cost about 5.1 times the median household income of $66,989, which is more affordable than 52% of Oregon towns. Median rent is $942 a month. 60.3% of households own their home.

Census ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. "Typical town" = median of Oregon towns with 500+ people.

Housing	Rainier	Typical Oregon town
Median home value	$344,700	$394,200
Median rent	$942	$1,312
Median household income	$66,989	$76,221
Home value ÷ income	5.1×	5.1×
Homeownership	60.3%	71.1%
Median year built	1972	1981
Seasonal / vacation homes	1.9%	—

Who lives in Rainier

People	Rainier	Typical Oregon town
Median age	35.2	41.7
Age 65 and over	19.5%	20.1%
Under 18	27.3%	—
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.6%	23.2%
Below the poverty line	18.3%	10.8%
Veterans	7.7%	—
Born outside the U.S.	1.8%	—
Work from home	10.2%	12.2%
Average commute	24.4 min	23.2 min
Homes with broadband	93.1%	92.4%

Weather in Rainier

July highs average 79.3°F and January lows 35.1°F. About 48.1 inches of rain and melted snow fall a year, with 2.3 inches of snow (typical Oregon town: 3.1 in). Expect about 9 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 41 nights at or below freezing.

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals: average daily high and low by month; precipitation and snowfall in inches. Temperatures from the Longview station (5.6 mi away); snowfall estimated from the 4 nearest snow stations, weighted by distance.

Tornadoes, storms and disasters

7 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Rainier since 1950, compared with 2 for the typical Oregon town. The strongest, an EF1, struck on October 23, 2014 about 4.1 miles from the town center. The most recent was on October 28, 2024.

NOAA Storm Events Database, tornado tracks (start to end point) passing within 10 miles of the town center, 1950–2026.

Severe weather in Columbia County since 1996

NOAA Storm Events Database, Columbia County, 1996–2026 (all event types recorded since 1996). 1 deaths recorded.

Columbia County has been included in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1953, most often for fire, flood, biological.

Declared	Incident	Declaration
September 15, 2020	Fire	DR-4562: Wildfires And Straight-Line Winds
March 28, 2020	Biological	DR-4499: Covid-19 Pandemic
March 13, 2020	Biological	EM-3429: Covid-19
August 8, 2017	Severe Storm	DR-4328: Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides
February 17, 2016	Severe Storm	DR-4258: Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides

Jobs and pay in Columbia County

Columbia County had 11,981 jobs in 2024, paying an average of $54,228 a year. Unemployment was 4.4% in 2023; in Rainier itself the ACS puts it at 7.5%.

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024, private-sector jobs and average annual pay.

Annual average unemployment rate (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics via USDA ERS).

Public schools in Rainier

2 public schools with 789 students, about 14.9 students per teacher.

School	Grades	Students	Per teacher
Hudson Park Elementary School	K-6	410	15.8
Rainier Jr/Sr High School	7-12	379	14.0

Towns near Rainier

Kelso, WA
4.1 mi · 12,720 people · home $337,600
Longview, WA
5.3 mi · 37,818 people · home $361,600
Kalama, WA
6.1 mi · 2,959 people · home $471,500
Beacon Hill, WA
7.0 mi · 2,211 people · home $397,600
Longview Heights, WA
7.5 mi · 4,033 people · home $456,700
Lexington, WA
8.3 mi · 3,834 people · home $359,900
Clatskanie, OR
12.8 mi · 1,716 people · home $363,900
Columbia City, OR
13.4 mi · 1,949 people · home $460,000

Rainier questions

Is Rainier, Oregon a good place to retire?

On The Town Files lifestyle rankings, Rainier scores better for retirees than 45% of Oregon towns and quieter than 59%. 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (median age 35.2).

How much does a house cost in Rainier?

The median owner-occupied home in Rainier is valued at $344,700 (Census ACS 2020–2024), against a median household income of $66,989, so homes cost about 5.1 times income. Median rent is $942 a month.

What is the weather like in Rainier?

July highs average 79.3°F and January lows 35.1°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). It gets about 48.1 inches of precipitation a year and 2.3 inches of snow.

Does Rainier get tornadoes?

7 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Rainier since 1950 (NOAA Storm Events); the strongest was an EF1 on October 23, 2014. The typical Oregon town has had 2.

How this page is made. Every number comes from public data, matched to Rainier's Census boundary (GEOID 4160850). Comparisons use the median of Oregon towns with at least 500 people. Weather comes from the nearest NOAA normals station; storm counts use NOAA tornado tracks within 10 miles of the town center.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020–2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census and 2025 Gazetteer (2020 / 2025)
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals (1991–2020)
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (1950–2026)
FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations (this product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API but is not endorsed by FEMA) (1953–2026)
NCES Common Core of Data (2023–24)
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; USDA ERS county unemployment (BLS LAUS) (2000–2024)
The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025)

Data snapshot 2026-11-13.