Rainier, Oregon.
Typical home $418,206 (+1.0% in a year). Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro.
to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$1,096 (+100%) since Jan 2020.
- 1 year
- Up $4,336 +1%
- $413,869$418,206 since Sep 2025
- 5 years
- Up $33,986 +9%
- $384,219$418,206 since Sep 2021
Monthly payment to buy the typical home
Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.
- Rainier$2,195
- Oregon$2,586
- United States$1,922
At the last five years' pace, a typical home here doubles in price every 41 years.
Typical home values in Rainier, OR rose 1.0% over the past year — in step with the nation.
Living in Rainier, Columbia County, Oregon
Rainier is a city of 1,911 people in Columbia County. Half its households earn more than $66,989 a year and half less, against $87,458 across Columbia County; 18% of its people live below the poverty line. Unemployment in Columbia County was 5.7% in August 2026, and the county had 2.5% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then manufacturing.
Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 23 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.
What it’s like
The place. Rainier is a small city in Columbia County, Oregon, on the river that forms the state line with Washington. Its residents are younger than in many American towns, and incomes here run below the county's as a whole. Fewer adults hold a four-year degree than the national picture, and the weather is mild and wet: cool winters with highs well above freezing, warm but not hot summers, and plenty of rain through the year.
Work. Residents work mostly in schools, hospitals and social care, followed by manufacturing, the building trades, and professional and business services. Across Columbia County, some of the largest workplaces are the St Helens and Scappoose school districts and Fred Meyer Stores. Unemployment across the county is lower than a year ago, and the county has added jobs. Most people drive to work, and a modest number work from home.
Things to do. Lake Sacajawea in Longview, Washington, is a lake a short drive away, and the Coweeman River is another river a short drive away. For a longer outing, Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area a longer drive away, as is Paradise Point State Park. The Multnomah Channel, also a longer drive away, offers more time on the water.
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- 841households
- 16%of adults have a degree
- 18%below the poverty line
- 24 mintypical commute
- 10%work from home
What residents work in
Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Columbia County had 12,277 jobs in 2025, 2.5% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Weather through the year
Coldest in December, with highs near 47° and lows near 35°; warmest in August, with highs near 80° and lows near 53°. About 48 inches of rain and melted snow a year.
Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Longview weather station, 6 miles away (NOAA).
Largest workplaces in Columbia County
- St Helens SD 502School district329FTE
- Scappoose SD 1JSchool district285FTE
- Fred Meyer StoresWarehouse clubs and supercenters246
- WalmartDiscount department stores156
- SafewaySupermarkets and other grocery stores133
- Rainier SD 13School district115FTE
- Clatskanie SD 6JSchool district107FTE
- USGWallboard106
Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 35 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 2,226 people in all across the county; Rainier has two of its own. School districts come from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.
Natural hazards
- Heat wavesRelatively high
- EarthquakesRelatively high
- Inland floodingRelatively high
- LandslidesRelatively moderate
- Strong windRelatively moderate
- Winter weatherRelatively moderate
FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Rainier’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.
From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Columbia County and the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro.
Rainier home values
Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.
- Rainier$418,206
- Oregon$492,753
- United States$366,157
Levy by levy, and a check of one home’s own bill, the site covers Ohio’s property tax.
Sellers are cutting prices on about 1 in 3 Rainier listings — the market is roughly in balance.
When this market ran hot
Each cell is that month's year-on-year home-value growth. Read left to right, top row is the latest year — the 2021–22 band is the boom.
Market heat, inside the city limits
Share of listings with a price cut
The early-warning dial: sellers cut when buyers stop reaching. Rising cuts cool a market months before prices notice.
- Rainier32.13%
- United States26.90%
Homes for sale
Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.
- Rainier28
New listings per month
Sellers arriving at the market.
- Rainier6
Zip codes with a Rainier address
A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls Rainier — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.