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Willow Creek Valley Survey Analysis The Willow Creek Valley Survey was mailed to 1,417 households. By June 30, 1999, there were 363 responses, which is a 25% response rate. After June 30, an additional 17 surveys were received. The late responses are not included in the total figures, but a few of the useful comments from the open-ended questions are included. Please see the attached tally sheet with exact total responses for each question. A discussion of each question and the corresponding responses is below. Question #1 – What is your Zip Code? The total number of households that responded to the survey was 363. Most of the responses from Willow Creek Valley were from Heppner, unsurprisingly. The survey results from Heppner households totaled 237 responses, followed by Ione with 76 responding households, and Lexington with 39 households. Outside of these three communities, there were responses from 11 Other Willow Creek Valley households. Looking at the number of people in each household from Question #5, the number of people represented in the survey can be computed. Ione shows the highest percentage of the total population represented in the survey results of the three communities at 80%.
Question #2 – How long have you lived in the W.C. Valley? Most of the respondents have lived in the W.C. Valley between 2 – 10 years. In Heppner, a number of people have lived there for 11 – 20 years. The Question #4 results shows many of the people made the decision to move to the valley because of a job. This may be a new job opportunity or because an existing employer relocated this employee to the valley. This is good news for potential businesses looking at the valley for expansion or relocation opportunities. From looking at these figures, there appears to be an active working population in the valley that is concerned about employment opportunities. The other large group of residents in the valley has been there for 50 years or more. This is probably the group represented by the ranchers and farmers. All three communities showed a large number of residents that have lived in the valley for 50 years or more or have lived in the valley all of their lives. Lexington’s showed a majority of its residents had lived there for over 21 years. Question #3 – From where did you move to the W.C. Valley? The majority of valley residents are from other Oregon cities, probably other rural communities. There were a total of 63 households that responded they had moved to the valley from Portland or the Willamette Valley. An almost equal number of residents are from out-of-state. This shows that the migration from "big city life" and "getting out of the rat race" is not the key reason that people are moving to the Willow Creek Valley. It appears that many rural residents, who are already sold on the rural lifestyle, are happy to move to the valley. Ione and Lexington showed a significant number of the population were lifetime residents. Question #4 – For what reason(s) did you move to the W.C. Valley? As mentioned in the discussion of Question #2, Jobs were the key reason for moving the valley. Family closely followed Jobs as the reason for relocating to the valley. It is possible that younger residents leave the county for education or job experience and return to the valley later in their lives. Third was the Rural Environment, which follows the conclusion that many people relocating the valley are from other rural areas and are very happy to live outside of a larger city. Retirement was also an important reason to move to the valley. Recreation and Cost of living were the least important reasons to move the valley. This questioned allowed the respondent to circle as many "reasons" as applied to their desire to move to the valley, so many respondents circled more than one reason for their decision to move. Question #5 – How many people are in your household? The majority of the respondents from all three communities were from two person households. Out of the 237 survey responses, 167 (or 70%) were from two person households. This could be a couple with grown children, or possibly a single parent with one child at home. Question #6 shows a large number of the population under the age of 17. Oregon state population figures also show a large number (24%) of the Morrow county population under the age of 17, so assuming the possibility of a single parent with one child in a household is very likely. There were also a number of respondents with one person in the household. This could be an aging, retired population that is living alone. Question #6 – What is the age range for all people in your household? The age range of the survey respondents closely followed the demographics of the valley, with 56% of the respondents between the ages of 18 – 64, 24% under the age of 17, and 20% over the age of 65. Most of the respondents outside of the three major communities were over the age of 65. Notice that the percentage of respondents under the age of 17 was higher than that of the 65 and over age group. In Morrow County, the 17 and under age group represents 29% of the total population. It is possible that while the percentage of younger people in the valley is not as high as the county as a whole, this may be a growing population in the valley. This will be an important group for focusing future employment opportunities. Actual county demographics categorize the 65 and over age group as 13% of the total population, so the Willow Creek Valley shows a higher percentage of its population in the 65 and older age group. The attractiveness of the valley for retirement may be the reason for the higher number of older residents. Also, the high number of lifelong residents contributes to the higher number of people over 65 years of age. Question #7 – What is the highest level of education you completed? Thirty percent of the respondents specified their highest level of education completed as either a high school diploma or GED equivalent. This was fairly consistent for all three communities. Some college has been completed by 27% of the respondents, with 15% completing an Associates Degree or Vocational Certificate, 14% completing a Bachelor’s Degree, and 9% with a Graduate or Professional Degree. Compared to the 1990 Census data for these three communities, there has been a significant increase in the number of people completing some college, and many more receiving Associates, Bachelor’s, and Graduate degrees. Question #8 – What communications systems do you have in your home? Almost 98% of the respondents have a residential phone in their home. Business phones were only in 12% of homes and fax machines were in 18% of homes. Cellular phone usage is also quite high at 46% of all respondents. Satellite dish usage is at 29%. In Question #18, there are a substantial number of home offices, hence the number of business phones, faxes, and cellular phones. Internet access was at 31% which is quite a high percentage compared to national statistics. Being a rural community, the appeal of the internet may be to access news, online shopping, and e-mail to friends and family. From the attached occupation listing, there does not appear to be any businesses, other than ranching and farming, dependent on the internet in the valley, so the balance of internet usage is more than likely for personal and home use. Question #9 – What are the number of phone lines you have in your home? Most of the households have one phone line in their home. About 29% of homes have two or more lines. Question #10 – What is the gender of persons of an employable age? Both male and female were equal in number of employment. The large number of employed females in Heppner households increased the number of the working females counted in the survey. Other communities tended to have higher numbers of employed males than females. Of all the respondents stating they were employed, 34% of them were females living in Heppner. The males living in Heppner accounted for 30%. Question #11 – Ages of employable persons? The highest number of employable ages per age group is in the 36 – 50 age group. This follows Question #6 where the largest age group for all people in the household was in between 18 – 64. The 51 – 64 age group and the 65 and over age group followed in the number of employable ages. The number of employable ages in the age group between 18 – 35 was substantially lower than the other 3 age groups. This seems exceptionally low and not truly reflective of the situation in the Willow Creek Valley. On the other hand, unemployment in Morrow County in 1998 was 8.4%, which is higher than the state’s 5.2%. Possibly, this age group is having the most difficulty finding jobs in the county. Question #12 – Are you currently employed? The responses to this question show 368 people currently working and 221 people stating they are not currently working. Of the 221 people not working, 92 of them were from the 18 – 35 age group or 42% of all employable ages not working. Question #13 – Do you work…full-time, part-time, seasonal, etc.? Most people, or about 66%, work full-time in the valley. This follows the earlier response from Question #4 that showed the main reason that people move to the valley was for a job. Most of these jobs would be full-time positions. About 19% of the respondents stated that they work part-time all year. In some cases, this figure could be spouses of full-time employees. A much small number of respondents stated that they work seasonal work or part-time / student. Thirty people work more than one job. Question #14 – If you are not currently working, would you be willing to work if there was an opportunity? The number of NO responses to this question almost doubled the number or YES responses. The "No’s" may reflect the retired community or a group that cannot work right now because of other circumstances, such as the need to stay with small children in the home. The YES answers most probably represent the views of valley residents who were not able to find work, such as a laid off worker, or one that has been working in seasonal jobs. Questions #15 – 17 Please see the separate lists included in this survey summary. Question #18 – Do you have a business at your home? The majority of the respondents do not have a home business; however, 31% of them do have a business in their home. This high number could represent two or more people working in one home office, farmers or ranchers that manage their books in their home office, or a secondary business that is operated out of the home. Question #19 – If you commute to work outside of the valley, where do you work? Out of a total of 126 commuters, the city attracting the majority of workers is Hermiston, closely followed by Boardman, and a smaller number going to Pendleton. Other communities are also attracting commuters. In fact, the highest number of commuters from the valley are travelling to this grouping called Other Communities, which is a collection of towns including Arlington, Condon, Pilot Rock, and Umatilla. The 126 commuters are more than likely full-time workers, so compared to the responses in Question #13, showing the number of full-time workers at 287, the commuters represent almost 44% of all full-time workers in the valley. Question #20 – If you commute, what hours do you typically work? Most of the commuters work days, with a smaller number working flexible hours. Question #21 – Have you ever been in a management / supervisory position? About 65% of the respondents answered YES to this question. The education levels from Question #7 showed a number of residents with higher education, so many of these people would qualify for management or supervisory positions. Many of the YES responses could also be the ranchers who would answer YES to this question, since they are the owner and manager of their ranch. Question #22 – What is your total annual salary? Annual salaries in the valley are primarily between $30,000 - $50,000. The next salary range is between $20,000 - $30,000. In 1997, the average wage for Morrow County was $25,159, so the respondents to this survey show a higher income bracket than that of the county as a whole. This would indicate that the valley has a higher average income than the county or that they respondents to this survey tended to be higher income earners. There were 73 respondents who answered that they earned $10,000 and less per year. This number closely mirrors the number of part-time year round workers from Question #13. There are 67 respondents who earn more than $50,000 per year. This is 15% of the total respondents. Question #23 – What type of employment activities would you like to see? Please refer to the attached listing of desirable employment opportunities that have been specified by individual respondents. Many of the answers are very general, falling into the categories of "anything that brings full-time work for our younger population". The more specific items have been noted in bold letters. Comments from some of the responders were not specifically
addressed to employment opportunities. Many comments addressed
areas that were least desirable. Others commented on strictly
local matters. All comments have been included on the list of
desirable employment opportunities.
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