Lane County, Oregon

Lane County is a county in Oregon, United States, about 110 miles south of Portland along
Interstate 5. It had a population of 382,971 at the 2020 census, Oregon’s fourth-most
populous county, and covers 4,722 square miles (12,230 km2) centred near 43°57′N 122°53′W —
one of only two Oregon counties that stretch from the Pacific Ocean to the Cascade Range.

Eugene is the county seat and Oregon’s second-largest city; its postal code is 97401. The
county holds 12 incorporated cities and 9 census-designated places, and it runs on Pacific Time.
Oregon counties have no civil townships, so places here are organized only as incorporated cities,
CDPs and unincorporated communities.

Towns & Villages in Lane County

Lane County has 21 named places with population data on record: 12 incorporated cities and 9
census-designated places (CDPs), plus dozens of smaller unincorporated localities with no
population count of their own. CDP stands for census designated place — a populated area
with no city government.

Two pairs on this list share a ZIP code rather than a boundary. Trent and Dexter both use
97431, since both sit along Oregon Route 58 near Dexter Reservoir and share the same rural post
office. Florence and the unincorporated beach community of Heceta Beach both use 97439; Heceta
Beach sits just north of Florence inside its urban growth boundary but has never been annexed.
Santa Clara, once a separate CDP on Eugene’s north side, is not listed above — roughly
40 percent of its land was annexed into Eugene between 1990 and 2005, and the Census Bureau no
longer reports it as a standalone place, so its population is folded into Eugene’s and River
Road’s totals today.

ZIP Codes

• 97401 — Eugene (the county seat’s main code)
• 97402, 97403, 97405, 97408, 97440 — also Eugene, covering other sides of the city
• 97404 — River Road, on Eugene’s northwest side
• 97477 — Springfield (also 97478 and 97482, Springfield PO boxes)
• 97424 — Cottage Grove
• 97439 — Florence and Heceta Beach
• 97448 — Junction City
• 97426 — Creswell
• 97487 — Veneta
• 97463 — Oakridge
• 97493 — Dunes City (Westlake)
• 97408 — Coburg
• 97452 — Lowell
• 97431 — Dexter and Trent
• 97438 — Jasper
• 97454 — Marcola
• 97437 — Elmira
• 97453 — Mapleton
• 97419 — Cheshire
• 97492 — Westfir

Dozens of smaller localities named on older maps — crossroads and mill sites such as
Acme, Deadwood, Nimrod and Walton along the Siuslaw corridor, or Vida and Walterville up the
McKenzie River — have no ZIP code or population count of their own; mail there is delivered
under the nearest listed town’s code.

Geography

Lane County crosses three distinct landscapes west to east: the Coast Range and Pacific
shoreline around Florence, the Willamette Valley farmland and cities in the middle, and the
Cascade Range peaks and forest along its eastern third. The Willamette River’s coast and
middle forks join near Eugene and Springfield to form the main Willamette River, which then
flows north through the valley. The McKenzie River drains the county’s northeast corner
before joining the Willamette at Coburg, and the Siuslaw River runs west from the Coast Range
to the ocean at Florence.

Lincoln County borders Lane along the coast to the northwest, Benton County lies to the
north, Linn County to the northeast, Deschutes County to the east across the Cascade crest,
Klamath County to the southeast, and Douglas County to the south. Lincoln County, Benton County, Linn County, Deschutes County, Klamath County and Douglas County all border Lane
directly.

Demographics

Lane County had a population of 382,971 at the 2020 census, and a 2024 estimate puts the
county near 384,207 residents. Eugene and Springfield together hold well over half the
county’s population and form the core of the Eugene–Springfield metropolitan area.
Median household income runs $71,544 as of 2024, below Oregon’s statewide 2023 ACS figure
of $80,160. Population density works out to roughly 84 people per square mile of land, heavily
concentrated in the Willamette Valley corridor; the mountain and coastal thirds of the county are
sparsely settled by comparison.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, followed by
retail trade and educational services. PeaceHealth operates the county’s major hospital
system out of Springfield, and the University of Oregon, based in Eugene, is one of the
county’s largest employers alongside the Eugene 4J School District. Timber and wood
products, historically the valley’s dominant industry, remain active around Oakridge and
Springfield though at a smaller scale than in the twentieth century. The county’s biggest
annual event is Junction City’s Scandinavian Festival each August, which draws more than
100,000 visitors to celebrate the town’s Danish heritage.

History

The Oregon territorial legislature created Lane County on 29 January 1851, carving it from
the southern part of Linn County and a strip of Benton County. It was named for Joseph Lane,
Oregon’s first territorial governor and later a US senator. Eugene Skinner settled the site
that became Eugene in 1846, and the city was incorporated as the county seat in 1862.

The Kalapuya people lived throughout the Willamette Valley long before settlers arrived; an
1855 treaty removed most Kalapuya bands to the Grand Ronde Reservation, and their descendants are
enrolled today in the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and Confederated Tribes of Siletz
Indians. The University of Oregon opened in Eugene in 1876 and grew into the region’s
largest employer and cultural anchor over the following century.

Getting There

Interstate 5 runs the length of the county’s valley floor through Eugene, Springfield,
Creswell and Cottage Grove. US Route 101 follows the coast through Florence, and Oregon Route 126
connects Florence to Eugene and continues east up the McKenzie River. Oregon Route 58 links
Eugene to Oakridge and on toward Klamath County over Willamette Pass.

• Portland — about 110 miles north
• Salem — about 60 miles north
• Roseburg — about 70 miles south
• Bend — about 130 miles east

Eugene Airport (Mahlon Sweet Field), on the city’s northwest side, is the county’s
own commercial airport with regional and West Coast connections. Amtrak’s Coast Starlight
and Amtrak Cascades trains stop at Eugene’s downtown station, connecting north to Portland
and Seattle and south to Sacramento and Los Angeles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Lane County located?
It sits in western Oregon, about 110 miles south of Portland, stretching from the Pacific coast
at Florence across the Willamette Valley to the Cascade Range.

What is the population of Lane County?
382,971 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 384,207.

How big is Lane County?
4,722 square miles (12,230 km2) in total, of which 4,553 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Lane County?
Eugene, Oregon’s second-largest city, is the county seat.

How many towns and cities are in Lane County?
Twelve incorporated cities — Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, Florence, Junction City,
Creswell, Veneta, Oakridge, Dunes City, Coburg, Lowell and Westfir — plus nine
census-designated places including River Road, Heceta Beach and Marcola.

What ZIP codes does Lane County use?
97401 through 97405, 97408 and 97440 for Eugene; 97477 for Springfield; and separate codes for
each smaller city, listed in the ZIP Codes section above.

What is Lane County known for?
The University of Oregon in Eugene, Junction City’s Scandinavian Festival each August, and
a landscape spanning Pacific beaches, Willamette Valley farmland and Cascade peaks in one county.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Oregon.