Carlton, OR: Economic and Demographic Profile

The Carlton Post Office was founded in 1874 along the railroad stretching from Portland to the unincorporated settlement known as St. Joe’s. According to local lore, a Mr. Wilson Carl traveled to the big city to ask for an intermediate stop in what became known as Carl’s town, and later Carlton. Located in the heart of Yamhill County, Carlton enjoys a lively tourism industry for a town of its size, buoyed up by the proliferation of farms and wineries that the mild climate invites. Carlton is a small town, with a population of just over two thousand. It had a median age slightly below that for Yamhill County and the state of Oregon in 2010, due to relative abundance in the youth cohorts, but a larger share of working-age population than that observed in comparable small towns in Oregon. The local economy is dominated by the wine industry, but a sizeable percent of the population in Yamhill County is employed in the Education and Health Services sector, as well. Carlton has an above-average net migration rate, compared to both Yamhill County and the state. This report will use data from a variety of state and federal sources to describe the economic and demographic attributes of the town, provide forecasts from a number of sources for several economic and demographic factors, and outline factors to track going forwards. While small towns can be difficult to analyze due to a paucity of local-level data, information on Yamhill County at large provides considerable insight. Additionally, this report will discuss recommendations for future implementations of the Carlton Satisfaction Survey, in order to provide the City with trackable indicators going forwards