Skip to content

A research project from

The Ford Family Foundation

Welcome to Oregon Voices

A First for Oregon

The Ford Family Foundation has a long history of investing in high-quality data to support local decision-making in rural communities. We created our annual indicator report, Oregon by the Numbers, with this purpose in mind.

Our Oregon Voices survey continues this tradition of representing rural Oregonians by ensuring every one of Oregon’s 36 counties has shareable results, regardless of their population size.

In addition, Oregon Voices focuses on people’s lived experiences across the state – a first for Oregon.

We hope the data will set the table for conversations in backyards, town halls, schools, workplaces, county fairs and in our State Capitol. We hope the voices of Oregonians shape the places we’re proud to call home.

Voices From All Corners of the State

We invited 500 randomly selected households from each Oregon county to participate in the first ever Oregon Voices survey, along with thousands of others connected in some way to the Foundation’s programs.

In total, more than 4,000 households submitted a survey across two data collection phases; over 1,000 of these were completed on paper. The map below shows the respondents’ distribution across Oregon.

Wheeler County, one of the state’s smallest counties, was the top reporting county in the random household phase and the Foundation’s home county, Douglas County, was the top reporting county overall.

About Our Methodology

Using Oregon Voices Data

The Oregon Voices data set is rich with information — pairing statistics with personal stories. Those who completed the survey were generous in sharing their experiences from living in their part of Oregon. We continue to analyze the responses we received and plan to dive even deeper into the trends and realities that surfaced through a series of data summaries and issue briefs focused on particular topics and themes that surfaced in the responses.

Your CountyExplore the DataIssue Briefs