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About East Medford
Medford is the largest city in the Rogue Valley and the county seat of Jackson County. It took the county seat from Jacksonville in 1927. This edition covers the part of the city that lies east of Interstate 5, which includes downtown and the Bear Creek corridor.
East Medford in numbers
For this site, "East Medford" means the Census block groups inside the Medford city limits whose center point lies east of Interstate 5. Twenty-six block groups fit that description. The figures below are our own sums and averages of official Census tables. They are estimates, and small-area estimates carry a margin of error.
| Measure | East Medford | Medford overall |
|---|---|---|
| Population (ACS 2020-2024) | 44,786 | 86,315 |
| Households | 17,666 | 34,813 |
| Owner-occupied share of households | 63.2% | 56.3% |
| Median household income | about $83,000 | $73,230 |
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | about $476,000 | $417,100 |
| Median age | about 41.5 | 38.9 |
| Residents aged 65 and over | 23.1% | 19.5% |
| Owner-occupied homes valued at $300,000 or more | 9,978 of 11,168 (89.3%) | 15,592 of 19,602 (79.5%) |
| Business establishments, ZIP 97504 | 1,674 | 3,320 (ZIPs 97501 and 97504) |
A few plain readings of that table. The east side is older and more owner-heavy than the city as a whole. Median household income runs about $10,000 higher and median home value about $59,000 higher. Nearly nine in ten owner-occupied homes are valued at $300,000 or more.
Medford's population was 85,824 in the 2020 Census. Portland State University's Population Research Center certified an estimate of 89,946 for July 1, 2025, a 4.8 percent rise since 2020.
How we got these numbers
- Population, households, tenure, income, home value, age and home-value brackets come from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates for 2020-2024, tables B01003, B11001, B25003, B19013, B25077, B01002 and B25075, read through Census Reporter.
- East and west sides were separated by testing which side of Interstate 5 each block group's internal point falls on, using Census TIGERweb boundaries. Counts are summed. Medians are household-weighted averages of block-group medians, which is an approximation because medians do not add exactly.
- The 26 east-side block groups account for 44,786 of Medford's residents. Block groups whose internal point sits outside the city line are not counted in either side.
- Business counts are from Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023 and are by ZIP code, not by city limit. They leave out businesses with no paid employees.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year data (2020-2024)
- Census Reporter
- Census TIGERweb
- Census ZIP Code Business Patterns
- Portland State University Population Research Center
- Medford, Oregon (Wikipedia), for the county-seat history
Also from Oregon Living: Oregon Living in West Medford, Oregon · Oregon Living in Central Point, Oregon · Oregon Living in Jacksonville, Oregon · Oregon Living in Ashland, Oregon · Oregon Living in Eagle Point, Oregon.