Rainier, Oregon

History

Rainier was founded on the banks of the Columbia River in 1851 by Charles E. Fox. The name was taken from Mount Rainier in Washington, which can be seen from the town.

For much of the last quarter of the twentieth century, Rainier was known to the rest of Oregon as the only commercial nuclear reactor in the state, which supplied electricity to Portland and its suburbs starting in 1975. This reactor failed to be an economical source of electricity, and was decommissioned around 1993.

Geography Rainier is located at 46°5'24" North, 122°56'33" West (46.089883, -122.942597)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.8 km² (2.6 mi²). 4.2 km² (1.6 mi²) of it is land and 2.6 km² (1.0 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 38.40% water.

Demographics As of the census of 2000, there are 1,687 people, 667 households, and 460 families residing in the city. The population density is 404.6/km² (1,044.8/mi²). There are 733 housing units at an average density of 175.8/km² (453.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 92.83% White, 0.06% African American, 1.48% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.24% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 3.68% from two or more races. 2.85% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 667 households out of which 31.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% are married couples living together, 10.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% are non-families. 26.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.53 and the average family size is 3.03.

In the city the population is spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $41,949, and the median income for a family is $46,759. Males have a median income of $45,179 versus $23,036 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,511. 10.4% of the population and 8.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.9% are under the age of 18 and 6.4% are 65 or older.