Photo: Sam Beebe/Ecotrust · CC BY-SA 3.0How is Wasco run?
Wasco’s city government spent $199,000 on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $456 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Wasco didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Wasco is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $456 per resident a year, or $1.25 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 39%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Wasco didn’t report all of its 2024 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Wasco yet
Every year of Wasco’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022–2024. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $1,543 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.67% of the home’s value, vs 0.81% across Oregon.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Wasco’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Wasco’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Wasco →
Who’s in charge in Wasco
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Wasco’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on wascooregon.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 436 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (436).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Sherman School District 1
Wasco’s K–12 school district, shared with Grass Valley, Moro, Rufus. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $21,401 per pupil, $10,298 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Oregon districts overall: 38% local, 52% state, 10% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Wasco’s votes are counted by county
Oregon reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Wasco alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Sherman County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican76.3%890 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat20.0%233 votesOthers: 3.7% (43 votes).
Most votes in Sherman County: Donald J Trump
Oregon: Harris 55.3%, Trump 41.0%
100% of Wasco lies in Sherman County. Every 2024 race in Sherman County is on the county’s page.
Sherman County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Wasco.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: wascooregon.com ↗
- 2Oregon HouseState representatives
- 3Oregon SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Oregon
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Wasco’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Wasco’s government
How much does Wasco spend per resident?
About $456 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, a Census Bureau estimate (Wasco didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $696,000.
What is the property tax rate in Wasco?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,543 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.67% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.81% across Oregon. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see wascooregon.com.
Who runs Wasco’s government?
See wascooregon.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Wasco yet.
How did Wasco vote in 2024?
Oregon counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Wasco alone. Sherman County, where 100% of Wasco lies, voted Trump 76.3%, Harris 20.0% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Wasco?
1 full-time and 3 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $11,793 (about $141,516 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Wasco in the state legislature?
State Senate District 29 (Todd Nash) and State House District 57 (Greg Smith). The House district also covers 22 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Wasco’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Wasco, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →