West Coast · Updated October 2026
Oregon in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$1,691/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
23.8%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
9.9%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
0.78%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
102.2
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
61st
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
What to weigh: the 7th heaviest state and local tax bill, the 9th highest natural-disaster risk, the 7th highest everyday costs and the 5th highest top income-tax rate.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 11.7% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 7th highest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Portland (Portland Intl Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 49°F | 36°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 63°F | 44°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 80°F | 57°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 65°F | 47°F |
$1,878/mo two-bedroom · $1,633 one-bedroom (Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA)
Portland is a green, bike-friendly, food-obsessed city with no sales tax and a long grey rainy season. Politically progressive and famously weird, it has struggled visibly with homelessness and downtown vacancy since 2020, though the neighbourhoods remain strong.
$1,546/mo two-bedroom · $1,182 one-bedroom (Eugene-Springfield, OR MSA)
Eugene is a smaller, rainier, more countercultural Oregon city built around the University of Oregon, with running culture, forests and the coast an hour away. Affordable relative to Portland, with a limited professional job market.
$1,893/mo two-bedroom · $1,447 one-bedroom (Bend-Redmond, OR HUD Metro FMR Area)
Bend sits in the high desert on the dry side of the Cascades — sunny, outdoorsy, brewery-dense and increasingly expensive. Skiing, climbing and rivers are all close; wages have not kept up with the influx of remote workers.
$1,692/mo two-bedroom · $1,294 one-bedroom (Salem, OR MSA)
Salem is Oregon's state capital in the Willamette Valley, quieter and cheaper than Portland an hour north, surrounded by farmland and vineyards. Government and agriculture dominate, and the cultural scene is modest.
$1,539/mo two-bedroom · $1,243 one-bedroom (Medford, OR MSA)
Ashland is a small southern Oregon town known for its Shakespeare festival, with a mild climate, a college and quick access to the mountains. Pretty, artsy, expensive for its size, and increasingly affected by wildfire smoke.
$1,857/mo two-bedroom · $1,487 one-bedroom (Corvallis, OR MSA)
Corvallis is a small, highly educated college town, home to Oregon State University, in the Willamette Valley. Green, safe and bike-friendly, with rainy winters and tight housing.
$1,331/mo two-bedroom · $1,017 one-bedroom (Grants Pass, OR MSA)
Grants Pass is a southern Oregon river town on the Rogue, known for rafting and fishing. Cheaper than much of Oregon, hot in summer and at real wildfire risk.
$1,888/mo two-bedroom · $1,443 one-bedroom (Hood River County, OR)
Hood River sits in the Columbia River Gorge below Mount Hood, famous for windsurfing, kiteboarding and orchards. Stunning and outdoorsy, but small, expensive and short on jobs.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. Oregon’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 9.9% (Oregon tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 11.7% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $1,691 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,397, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $68 less than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 102.2 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 138.0 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 23.8% of the state’s median household income of $85,220.
Oregon recorded 331 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 23rd highest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are wildfires and earthquakes. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oregon’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 61st percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Portland, Eugene, Bend, Salem and Ashland. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.