How much do households in Oregon spend on rent?
Data updated September 16, 2024
In 2022, the median monthly rent in Oregon was about $1.37K, which accounted for 32.6% of the median household income. This is measured by comparing the median rent and the median monthly income for renting households.
Showing data for
In 2022, median rent was
32.6%
of median income
In 2022,
$1.37K
was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability. Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates it’s more affordable.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of average monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
Oregon's rent-to-income ratio was higher than in the US overall in 2022.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income
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The national rent-to-income ratio reached a high of 33.8% in 2011 following the Great Recession. In Oregon, the rent-to-income ratio reached 33.5% that year. Most recently, in 2022, Oregon’s rent-to-income ratio was 32.6%, 0.9 percentage points higher than the national rate.
Across metro areas, the average rent-to-income ratio was 30.8% in 2018–2022.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
In 2018–2022, the average rent-to-income ratio across metro areas was 30.8%. The metro areas with the highest and lowest ratios were the Mayagüez, Puerto Rico area at 56.9% (highest) and Sheboygan, Wisconsin area at 21.7% (lowest). In Oregon, the highest and lowest were Corvallis, OR area at 40.8% and Albany, OR area at 29.5%.
During the most recent period, the Portland, OR area had the highest median rent at $1.58K per month and the highest median monthly income at $5K out of eight Oregon metro areas. Its rent-to-income ratio was the sixth highest in the state.
Renter income and rent, Oregon metro areas (2018–2022)
| 1. | Albany, OR area | $3,930 |
| 2. | Bend, OR area | $4,743 |
| 3. | Corvallis, OR area | $3,224 |
| 4. | Eugene, OR area | $3,552 |
| 5. | Grants Pass, OR area | $3,131 |
| 6. | Medford, OR area | $3,643 |
| 7. | Portland, OR area | $4,999 |
| 8. | Salem, OR area | $3,927 |
