Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-10-10
2 of Oregon's 36 counties — 6% — allow living in an RV on private land. That is the 21st-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Umatilla County (68/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 456 counties nationwide → Oregon: no building codes → Oregon: owner-builder → Oregon: tiny homes → Full Oregon profile →
From the Oregon guide
Oregon has county-level RV answers for 24 counties: 2 allow qualifying uses, 2 allow only temporary occupancy, 17 have limited uses and 3 prohibit the covered use; the remaining 12 have no confirmed county-level answer.6 Umatilla County allows an RV dwelling option in its Mountain Residential zone with zoning approval, while Lincoln County allows qualifying RV uses under applicable conditional-use provisions.6 Compare the RV-living county list, paying attention to each use’s conditions.6
Oregon’s rural RV rental law applies when a county elects to allow the use on qualifying property with an existing owner-occupied primary dwelling; it does not generally authorize an RV home on an empty rural parcel.23
Tiny-home answers cover 13 counties: 2 allowed, 9 limited and 2 prohibited; 23 remain unconfirmed.7 Klamath County allows code-compliant small dwellings, and Curry County allows qualifying manufactured tiny homes on permanent foundations.7 The tiny-home county list distinguishes these uses from homes on wheels.7
From the Oregon guide, written from the cited official sources and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: confirm with the office before you buy or build.
2 of 36 Oregon counties · sorted by Index score
One recreational vehicle used as the single-family dwelling option on one tax lot in the County MR, Mountain Residential, Zone. A zoning permit under § 152.025 is required. Only…
Umatilla County Development Code ↗Recreational vehicles located on individual lots where the applicable Lincoln County zoning provisions authorize the use as a conditional use in unincorporated Lincoln County. A…
Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Oregon state page for all 36 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
Off-grid gear
Building on land in one of these Oregon counties? The kit we'd start with:
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General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
