Fast-growing high desert city reshaping Central Oregon's electoral math
Bend's rapid in-migration has made Deschutes County a competitive pivot point in statewide races, shifting a once reliably Republican media market toward split-ticket patterns that neither party can take for granted.
| Group | Bend, OR | National |
|---|---|---|
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13) | 87.8% | 57.4% |
▶Hispanic / Latino(20) | 7.1% | 19.3% |
Multiracial / Other | 2.9% | 4.0% |
▶Asian(6) | 1.0% | 6.0% |
▶Native American / Alaska Native(7) | 0.8% | 0.9% |
▶Middle Eastern / North African(8) | 0.6% | 0.9% |
▶Black / African American(8) | 0.4% | 12.2% |
▶Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander(2) | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Catholic-Evangelical edge: -38.5pp (vs national 4.5pp). A strongly Evangelical-leaning religious profile, which nationally correlates with Republican-leaning rural and exurban communities.
| Tradition | % Pop | % Adherents | US Pop | US Adherents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15.3% | 54.3% | — | — | |
| 5.7% | 20.2% | — | — | |
| 5.3% | 18.8% | — | — | |
LDS (Mormon) | 2.5% | 8.8% | — | — |
| 1.8% | 6.4% | — | — | |
Non-religiousPopulation | 71.8% | — | — | — |
Who lives in the Bend, OR media market? 644,393 residents across 4 counties.
Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.
Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.
Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.
| Offices | Margin A | Margin B | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate vs Governor | D+10.2 | R+3.3 | 13.5pp |