Fossil, OR population, income and ZIP codes

Fossil city is a very small community in Oregon, with 448 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #296 of 426 ranked by population — larger than 30% of them. The median age here is 53.7 years against 39.1 nationally, a markedly older profile that usually tracks retirees staying put and younger households leaving for work. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.

Households in Fossil city earn a median of $48,438 a year, 38.3% below the national figure of $78,538 and 35% below the $74,006 median for the 228 Oregon cities we cover. Median household income counts every pre-tax dollar arriving at an address — wages, self-employment, Social Security, pensions, interest and public assistance — for everyone living there, so multi-earner households pull the figure up even where individual pay is modest. Poverty reaches 9.2% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Fossil city is valued at $143,800, 52.6% below the national figure and 62% below the $377,700 peer median, while median gross rent runs $752 a month, 46.5% below the national figure, or roughly $9,024 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 18.6% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 77.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

A median age of 53.7 puts Fossil city well into retirement-weighted territory, which pulls median household income down even where household wealth is high, because retirement draws are counted differently from wages. With 448 residents, a handful of survey responses moves every median on this page. Compare Fossil city against its county rather than against national figures.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.