How hard is the water in Union County, OR?
4.8 grains per gallon
Optional: a softener helps, but plenty of homes skip it.
The median hardness measured in Union County, OR is 82 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 4.8 gpg. That is moderately hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 135 samples at 39 sites between 1993 and 2026, drawn from groundwater wells, which is what most taps and private wells in the county draw on.
How much it varies here
Half the sites came in between 3 and 11.2 gpg. That spread crosses a decision line, so some homes here land on a different answer. A $10 test strip on your own tap settles it. Confidence in the county figure: high (how it is measured).
What to do next
At 4.8 gpg this is your call. Look for white film on glasses and crust on the shower head: if you see little of either, you can live without one. If you do want one, a 24,000-grain unit is enough, so ask for that size rather than a bigger one. Because Union County straddles a decision line, check your own tap with a $10 test strip before you spend anything.
More on when a softener is not worth it.
From 1.5 to 144.0 gpg
The softest single sample on record in Union County was 25.5 mg/L and the hardest 2,465 mg/L, a 97-fold gap. The top quarter of sites read above 11.2 gpg and the bottom quarter below 3 gpg.
Wells 4.8 gpg, rivers and lakes 2 gpg
135 groundwater samples from 39 wells put the median at 81.5 mg/L. 227 surface samples from 67 sites put it at 35 mg/L. In Union County the wells come out 2.8 gpg harder. Groundwater sits in contact with rock for years and picks up calcium and magnesium as it goes, so wells usually read harder. The two sources are close, so the county figure should hold whichever one your tap is on.
What a softener would cost to run
For a household of 3, a 24,000-grain unit covers a week between regenerations. Expect about 104 lb of salt a year (3 bags of 40 lb, about $19), and roughly 2,346 gallons of regeneration water. Installed, most units run $1,000 to $4,500; spread over 15 years with salt, that is about $119 a year.
Sizing at 4.8 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 288 | 24,000 | 35 lb |
| 2 | 576 | 24,000 | 70 lb |
| 4 | 1,152 | 24,000 | 140 lb |
| 6 | 1,728 | 24,000 | 210 lb |
Union County against the rest of Oregon
Among the 36 Oregon counties with data, Union County is number 20 of 36 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 30% of counties.
Softest in Oregon: Columbia County at 1.4 gpg. Hardest: Malheur County at 17.8 gpg. Closest to Union County: Grant County (4.8), Klamath County (4.8), Baker County (4.6).