Portland / The Dalles
The Dalles has 15,917 residents (give or take 23) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US4172950, checked 2026-10-19), about 2,381 people per square mile.
The Dalles is about 73 miles from the Census center point for Portland in a straight line and covers 6.685 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
Of the 6,525 occupied homes in The Dalles, 18% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 79% with electricity and 0% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US4172950, checked 2026-10-19).
Electricity already heats 79% of The Dalles homes, ahead of gas at 18%, and a home on electric baseboard sees the biggest bill change from a heat pump because it replaces resistance heat one for one.
The Dalles has about the Wasco County oil share of 1% and 2 points more electric heat than the county's 77% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US41065, checked 2026-10-19).
The Dalles has 6,964 housing units, 20% built before 1940 and 70% before 1980, with 15% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US4172950, checked 2026-10-19).
The Dalles has 3 points more pre-1940 homes than Wasco County as a whole (17%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US41065, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median The Dalles home was built in 1964 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US4172950, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 5.3 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US4172950, checked 2026-10-19).
65% of The Dalles homes are single-family detached, 9% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 13% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US4172950, checked 2026-10-19).
37% of The Dalles homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US4172950, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 65% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
70% of The Dalles homes were built before 1980 and only 15% in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US4172950, checked 2026-10-19), so most of the stock predates modern insulation codes; the installer's heat-loss calculation, not a square-footage rule, decides the tonnage.
No electric utility is on file for The Dalles on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
Energy Trust of Oregon heat pump incentives, run by Energy Trust of Oregon, is a live program for Oregon addresses and covers qualifying equipment at $1,000 per system (registry row 15 verified 2026-10-15, https://www.energytrust.org/incentives/residential-cooling-solutions/, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the The Dalles address before counting it. With 79% of The Dalles homes already on electric heat and 18% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Median household income in The Dalles is $62,614 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US4172950, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
Heating design temperature: 19F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Wasco County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 100 to 102 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That 19F figure is the Wasco County cold-day number a The Dalles heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 19F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median The Dalles home has 5.3 rooms and was built around 1964, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for The Dalles. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for The Dalles yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.