View from Marys Peak Summit · Photo: Josh B · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Benton County, Oregon
96,303 residents · Updated Nov 12, 2026
Rental availability, asking rents against HUD Fair Market Rent, and community services in Benton County, from the data behind Range Lab’s tools, refreshed daily.
View from Marys Peak Summit · Photo: Josh B · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
38,069
▼ 1.7%
vs. a year ago · Q1 2026
$1,381
▲ 4.1%
vs. a year ago · $34.52/hr
$30.67/hr
36 hrs/week
at the average wage to afford it
4.5%
▼ 0.4 pts
vs. a year ago · July 2026
$77,702
18.2%
below the poverty line · ACS 2024
Are wages keeping up with rent?
Average weekly wage and typical rent, both indexed to Q3 2023 = 100.
+4.1%wages vs. a year ago
| Q3 2023 | Wages 100.0 | Rent 100.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | Wages 107.6 | Rent 100.3 |
| Q1 2024 | Wages 100.5 | Rent 101.4 |
| Q2 2024 | Wages 105.8 | Rent 103.8 |
| Q3 2024 | Wages 107.0 | Rent 104.2 |
| Q4 2024 | Wages 109.8 | Rent 105.1 |
| Q1 2025 | Wages 108.6 | Rent 105.0 |
| Q2 2025 | Wages 107.2 | Rent 106.4 |
| Q3 2025 | Wages 111.5 | Rent 107.2 |
| Q4 2025 | Wages 112.7 | Rent 108.1 |
| Q1 2026 | Wages 113.1 | Rent 109.8 |
Unemployment, year over year
Not seasonally adjusted, so each year gets its own line. A line above last year’s is the real signal. October 2025 was not published.
| Month | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.9% | 4.3% | 4.8% |
| February | 3.8% | 4.2% | 4.6% |
| March | 3.6% | 4.1% | 4.0% |
| April | 3.0% | 3.4% | 3.4% |
| May | 3.2% | 4.0% | 4.0% |
| June | 3.7% | 4.6% | 4.8% |
| July | 4.3% | 4.9% | 4.5% |
| August | 4.2% | 4.8% | — |
| September | 3.9% | 4.8% | — |
| October | 3.7% | — | — |
| November | 3.6% | 4.0% | — |
| December | 4.1% | 4.4% | — |
4.5%
▼ 0.4 pts
vs. July 2025
2,165
unemployed of a 48,218 labor force
July 2026
Who earns the housing wage?
Out of 100 Corvallis metro workers, how many are paid enough to afford each unit size at 30% of income. Estimated from BLS wage percentiles.
70 of 100
Studio
$21.06/hr · $1,095 rent
56 of 100
1 bedroom
$25.87/hr · $1,345 rent
45 of 100
2 bedroom
$30.67/hr · $1,595 rent
22 of 100
3 bedroom
$46.06/hr · $2,395 rent
Hourly pay, all workers
10th$27.73
Median$63.58
90th
Jobs and pay by occupation group
Each bubble is an occupation group: median hourly wage across, jobs up, size by jobs. Red groups’ median worker can’t afford a 2-bedroom.
| Management Occupations | $54.66/hr | 3,080 jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | $54.56/hr | 1,170 jobs |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | $51.35/hr | 2,810 jobs |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | $46.02/hr | 1,490 jobs |
| Legal Occupations | $38.29/hr | 150 jobs |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | $37.72/hr | 2,370 jobs |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | $36.53/hr | 4,040 jobs |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | $33.81/hr | 1,210 jobs |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | $31.35/hr | 480 jobs |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | $30.27/hr | 1,040 jobs |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | $28.78/hr | 1,480 jobs |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | $27.90/hr | 1,020 jobs |
| Protective Service Occupations | $27.30/hr | 600 jobs |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | $23.73/hr | 170 jobs |
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | $23.55/hr | 4,010 jobs |
| Production Occupations | $22.74/hr | 880 jobs |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | $22.12/hr | 1,880 jobs |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | $19.68/hr | 1,190 jobs |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | $18.78/hr | 1,770 jobs |
| Sales and Related Occupations | $18.20/hr | 2,500 jobs |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | $18.14/hr | 1,180 jobs |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | $17.56/hr | 4,040 jobs |
What different jobs pay vs. what’s needed for rent
Hourly pay range for each occupation group against the $30.67/hr housing wage. The last column is the weekly hours the median worker needs to afford a 2-bedroom.
Pay compared with Oregon and the U.S.
Median hourly wage for all occupations, then each group’s Corvallis median against the statewide median, sorted by the gap.
- Corvallis metro$27.73
- Oregon$27.40
- United States$24.51
- Farming, fishing & forestryPays more by +33%
- Education & libraryPays more by +24%
- Architecture & engineeringPays more by +9%
- Arts, media & sportsPays more by +1%
- Personal care & servicePays less by −2%
- Office & admin supportPays less by −3%
- Food servicePays less by −3%
- Healthcare supportPays less by −3%
- Community & social servicePays less by −3%
- Protective servicePays less by −4%
- Construction & extractionPays less by −5%
- ProductionPays less by −5%
- Installation & repairPays less by −6%
- Business & financePays less by −7%
- ManagementPays less by −9%
- Healthcare practitionersPays less by −9%
- SalesPays less by −10%
- Cleaning & groundsPays less by −11%
- SciencePays less by −12%
- Computer & mathPays less by −13%
- LegalPays less by −13%
- Transportation & movingPays less by −16%
What sets local work apart?
Every occupation group’s share of local jobs compared with its U.S. share (location quotient). 2× means twice as common here; 0.5× means half as common.
Most concentrated here
Science
3.3× the U.S. share
Least concentrated here
Production
0.4× the U.S. share
- Science3.3×
- Community & social service2.2×
- Architecture & engineering1.8×
- Education & library1.8×
- Farming, fishing & forestry1.6×
- Personal care & service1.5×
- Food service1.2×
- Healthcare practitioners1.1×
- Computer & math1.1×
- Management1.1×
- Cleaning & grounds1.1×
- Healthcare support1.0×
- Arts, media & sports0.9×
- Business & finance0.9×
- Office & admin support0.9×
- Sales0.8×
- Installation & repair0.7×
- Construction & extraction0.7×
- Protective service0.6×
- Transportation & moving0.5×
- Legal0.5×
- Production0.4×
Key takeaways
What this means for Benton County.
Wages are rising
The average weekly wage is $1,381, up 4.1% from a year ago.
Where most people work
Education & library, food service and office & admin support are 31% of jobs, with median pay of $36.53, $17.56, $23.55 an hour.
Most workers fall short of the housing wage
About 45 in 100 workers earn the $30.67/hr needed to afford a 2-bedroom at 30% of income.
Unemployment is falling
4.5% in July 2026, 0.4 points below a year earlier.
Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (through July 2026) · BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (Q1 2026) · BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025, Corvallis, OR metro area) · Census ACS 2024 · Range Lab RST listings. The housing wage follows the National Low Income Housing Coalition method: rent × 12 ÷ 0.30 ÷ 2,080 hours. About the data.