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About Cannon Beach
Cannon Beach is a small city in Clatsop County, on the north Oregon coast. Wikipedia says the community was called Elk Creek until 1922, when it was renamed Cannon Beach, after a cannon from a Navy schooner that washed ashore in 1846. The city was incorporated in 1956.
Cannon Beach in numbers
| Measure | Cannon Beach |
|---|---|
| Population, 2020 Census | 1,489 |
| Population, Portland State University certified estimate, July 1, 2025 | 1,541 (+3.5% since 2020) |
| Population, ACS 2020-2024 | 1,361 (margin of error 280) |
| Households | 777 (margin of error 193) |
| Owner-occupied share of households | 54.8% |
| Median household income | $69,375 (margin of error $8,290) |
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $823,200 (margin of error $134,505) |
| Median age | 62.2 (margin of error 4.0) |
| Residents aged 65 and over | 36.7% |
| Owner-occupied homes valued at $300,000 or more | 390 of 426 (91.5%) |
| Seasonal, recreational or occasional-use homes | 60.4% of all housing units |
| Business establishments, ZIP 97110 | 150 |
A plain reading
The seasonal-home share is the number to notice. About 1,232 of roughly 2,040 housing units are kept for seasonal or occasional use, which means most homes in town are not someone's year-round address. The town is also older than most, with a median age above 60, and its median home value is the highest of the north and central coast towns in our data sheets.
Cannon Beach is small, so its estimates are less precise than a big city's. The population and home-value margins of error are wide. Treat the figures as a good guide to the size and shape of the town, not as exact counts.
How we got these numbers
- Households, tenure, income, home value, age, home-value brackets and seasonal housing come from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates for 2020-2024, tables B01003, B11001, B25003, B19013, B25077, B01002, B25075 and B25004, read through Census Reporter for the Cannon Beach city boundary. Dollars are 2024 inflation-adjusted ACS dollars.
- The seasonal share is the Census count of units "for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use" divided by all housing units (occupied plus vacant).
- The 2020 population is the 2020 Census count. The 2025 figure is the certified estimate from Portland State University's Population Research Center, taken from the League of Oregon Cities listing of the certified estimates.
- Business counts are from Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023. They are by ZIP code, not by city limit, and they leave out businesses with no paid employees.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year data (2020-2024)
- Census Reporter
- Census TIGERweb
- Census ZIP Code Business Patterns
- Portland State University Population Research Center
- Cannon Beach, Oregon (Wikipedia), for the name and incorporation
Also from Oregon Living: Oregon Living in Astoria, Oregon · Oregon Living in Seaside, Oregon · Oregon Living in Tillamook, Oregon.