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Hood River County is a county created in the U.S. State of Oregon in 1908. The county was named for the tributary of the Columbia River within its boundaries, Hood River. As of 2000, the population is 20,411. Its county seat is Hood River 6.
Agriculture, timber, lumber and recreation are the major sources of revenue and industry. Fruit grown in the fertile valley is of such exceptional quality the county leads the world in Anjou pear production. A 1997 census recorded 15,553 acres (63 km˛) of commercial orchards growing pears, apples, cherries and peaches. Hood River County also has two ports and two boat basins, one serving local barge traffic, a steel boat manufacturing firm and Mid-Columbia yachting interests. The Forest Service owns 64% of the lands within the county boundaries.
The Columbia River near Hood River is a premier windsurfing area, attracting windsurfers from throughout the United States and around the world. This has affected the local economy in many ways: not only are there many local businesses focussed on windsurfing products and services, but more affluent windsurfers have purchased many local houses as vaction homes, and forced local inhabitants to find affordable housing in adjacent towns.
In 1987, a local group of businessmen purchased the 22 mile (35 km) branch line to Parkdale from the Union Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad is the largest railroad in the United States. Its AAR reporting mark is UP . The railroad is wholly owned by Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) which also owns Overnite Transportation, a fairly major less-than-truckload shippi for $600,000, renaming it the Mount Hood Railroad . This rail line not only offers tourist rides, but carries fruit from the local orchards as well as lumber to market.
According to the U.S. Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census is a part of the United States Department of Commerce. Its mission is defined in the Constitution of the United States, which directs that the population be enumerated at least once every te, the county has a total area of 1,382 km˛ (534 mi˛This article is about the unit of measure. In England, the Square Mile is a traditional name for the City of London. A square mile (symbol sq. or mi is an imperial unit which is the area of a square whose side is one mile (or 5,280 feet). A square mile is). 1,353 km˛ (522 mi˛) of it is land and 29 km˛ (11 mi˛) of it is water. The total area is 2.10% water.
As of the censusA census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). It can be contrasted with sampling in which information is only obtained from a subset of a population. As such it is a method used f 2 of 2000, there are 20,411 people, 7,248 households, and 5,175 families residing in the county. The population densityIf you were linked from a country article: the density there is based on land area, see below Population density can be used as a measurement of any tangible item. However it is most frequently applied to living organisms. Population density is usually ex is 15/km˛ (39/mi˛). There are 7,818 housing units at an average density of 6/km˛ (15/mi˛). The racial makeup of the county is 78.87% White, 0.57% Black or African American, 1.12% Native American, 1.47% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 15.37% from other races, and 2.46% from two or more races. 25.02% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 7,248 households out of which 35.70% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% are married couples living together, 8.80% have a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% are non-families. 22.70% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.90% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.70 and the average family size is 3.15.
In the county, the population is spread out with 28.00% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 99.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $38,326, and the median income for a family is $41,422. Males have a median income of $31,658 versus $24,382 for females. The per capita income for the county is $17,877. 14.20% of the population and 9.80% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 17.30% of those under the age of 18 and 7.80% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.