Ione is a city in Morrow County, Oregon, United States. The population was 337 at the 2020 census.
Sheep ranching was important in the region during the days of early settlement by non-natives. It continues in the 21st century and has been joined by wheat farming and cattle ranching as significant uses of the land. It is along Oregon Route 74, northwest of Heppner,
Willow Creek flows through Ione, which is downstream of Heppner and Lexington and upstream of Arlington.
Climate
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the Köppen climate classification system, Ione has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, Csb on climate maps.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Ione had a population of 337. The median age was 46.4 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 120.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 119.1 males age 18 and over.
0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 133 households in Ione, of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.9% were married-couple households, 21.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 15.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 15.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
As of 2002, the top employers for Ione were the Ione Community School and—all in Heppner—the Columbia Basin Electric Co-op, Miller & Sons Welding, and the Heppner Gazette-Times (a weekly newspaper).