Rainier, Oregon

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Coordinates: 46°5′24″N, 122°56′33″W
Rainier, Oregon
Location in Oregon
County	Columbia County
Incorporated	1885
Mayor	Jerry Cole
Area
- City	6.8 km² (2.6 sq mi)
- Land	4.2 km² (1.6 sq mi)
- Water	2.6 km² (1.0 sq mi)
Elevation	15.54 m (51 ft)
Population
- City (2000)	1,687
- Density	404.6/km² (1,044.8/sq mi)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	Pacific (UTC-7)

Rainier is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,687 at the 2000 census.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History

Rainier was founded in 1851 on the south bank of the Columbia River by Charles E. Fox and was originally named Eminence. The name Rainier was taken from Mount Rainier in Washington, which can be seen from hills above the city.

For much of the last quarter of the twentieth century, Rainier was known to the rest of Oregon as home to Trojan Nuclear Power Plant, the only commercial nuclear reactor in the state, which supplied electricity to Portland and its suburbs starting in March of 1976. The plant had been built on the site of an Indian burial ground.^{[citation needed]} This reactor was closed periodically due to structural problems, and in January 1993, it was decommissioned after cracks developed in the steam tubes. On May 21, 2006, the cooling tower was demolished.

[edit] Geography

Rainier is located at 46°5′24″N, 122°56′33″W (46.089883, -122.942597)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.8 km² (2.6 mi²). 4.2 km² (1.6 mi²) of it is land and 2.6 km² (1.0 mi²) of it (38.40%) is water.

Rainier is surrounded by a number of rural communities, which usually had more significance in the past than they do now. These include Fern Hill, Hudson, Alston, Apiary, Goble, and Prescott. Except for Prescott, which is an incorporated city (despite having neither a post office nor a separate telephone exchange), little remains to identify these places today other than a small road sign or a historic landmark, such as an abandoned or converted school. However, some older residents may identify themselves with these communities rather than with Rainier. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,687 people, 667 households, and 460 families residing in the city. The population density was 404.6/km² (1,044.8/mi²). There were 733 housing units at an average density of 175.8/km² (453.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.83% White, 0.06% African American, 1.48% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.24% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 3.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.85% of the population.

There were 667 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,949, and the median income for a family was $46,759. Males had a median income of $45,179 versus $23,036 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,511. About 8.4% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.