Pearsoll Peak · Photo: Forest Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Josephine County, Oregon
88,179 residents · Updated Nov 12, 2026
Rental availability, asking rents against HUD Fair Market Rent, and community services in Josephine County, from the data behind Range Lab’s tools, refreshed daily.
Josephine County
Oregon
88,179 residents
6 ZIP codes with listings
390 services listed
All Oregon countiesPearsoll Peak · Photo: Forest Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
30,285
▼ 0.8%
vs. a year ago · Q1 2026
$995
▲ 3.1%
vs. a year ago · $24.88/hr
$26.83/hr
43 hrs/week
at the average wage to afford it
7.7%
▼ 0.1 pts
vs. a year ago · July 2026
$60,098
15.6%
below the poverty line · ACS 2024
Are wages keeping up with rent?
Average weekly wage and typical rent, both indexed to Q3 2023 = 100.
+3.1%wages vs. a year ago
| Q3 2023 | Wages 100.0 | Rent 100.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | Wages 101.9 | Rent 99.9 |
| Q1 2024 | Wages 101.9 | Rent 100.0 |
| Q2 2024 | Wages 101.9 | Rent 101.4 |
| Q3 2024 | Wages 104.1 | Rent 102.4 |
| Q4 2024 | Wages 106.6 | Rent 100.7 |
| Q1 2025 | Wages 105.8 | Rent 103.5 |
| Q2 2025 | Wages 106.6 | Rent 106.9 |
| Q3 2025 | Wages 109.0 | Rent 105.1 |
| Q4 2025 | Wages 112.4 | Rent 107.6 |
| Q1 2026 | Wages 109.1 | Rent 107.2 |
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 | 6.8% | 7.5% | 8.0% |
| February | 6.5% | 7.4% | 7.5% |
| March | 6.0% | 7.3% | 7.0% |
| April | 4.9% | 6.3% | 6.2% |
| May | 5.0% | 6.4% | 6.2% |
| June | 5.9% | 7.3% | 7.4% |
| July | 6.7% | 7.8% | 7.7% |
| August | 6.2% | 7.7% | — |
| September | 5.4% | 6.8% | — |
| October | 5.5% | — | — |
| November | 5.8% | 6.5% | — |
| December | 6.2% | 6.6% | — |
7.7%
▼ 0.1 pts
vs. July 2025
2,758
unemployed of a 35,753 labor force
July 2026
Who earns the housing wage?
Out of 100 Grants Pass metro workers, how many are paid enough to afford each unit size at 30% of income. Estimated from BLS wage percentiles.
83 of 100
Studio
$17.79/hr · $925 rent
70 of 100
1 bedroom
$20.19/hr · $1,050 rent
39 of 100
2 bedroom
$26.83/hr · $1,395 rent
17 of 100
3 bedroom
$38.37/hr · $1,995 rent
Hourly pay, all workers
10th$24.39
Median$46.43
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.
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | $51.16/hr | 1,720 jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Management Occupations | $48.61/hr | 1,390 jobs |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | $47.00/hr | 330 jobs |
| Legal Occupations | $39.12/hr | 100 jobs |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | $37.84/hr | 160 jobs |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | $35.80/hr | 1,040 jobs |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | $35.40/hr | 180 jobs |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | $30.04/hr | 890 jobs |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | $28.59/hr | 960 jobs |
| Protective Service Occupations | $28.34/hr | 540 jobs |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | $27.39/hr | 930 jobs |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | $27.19/hr | 1,750 jobs |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | $26.10/hr | 200 jobs |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | $24.97/hr | 5,660 jobs |
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | $23.22/hr | 3,060 jobs |
| Production Occupations | $22.19/hr | 1,890 jobs |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | $21.30/hr | 110 jobs |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | $20.05/hr | 850 jobs |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | $20.00/hr | 1,030 jobs |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | $18.70/hr | 2,160 jobs |
| Sales and Related Occupations | $18.30/hr | 2,440 jobs |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | $17.42/hr | 3,120 jobs |
What different jobs pay vs. what’s needed for rent
Hourly pay range for each occupation group against the $26.83/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 Grants Pass median against the statewide median, sorted by the gap.
- Grants Pass metro$24.39
- Oregon$27.40
- United States$24.51
- Farming, fishing & forestryPays more by +20%
- Healthcare supportPays more by +9%
- Community & social servicePays more by +1%
- Personal care & serviceAbout the same: 0%
- Protective servicePays less by −1%
- Cleaning & groundsPays less by −1%
- Food servicePays less by −4%
- Office & admin supportPays less by −4%
- ProductionPays less by −7%
- Education & libraryPays less by −7%
- Installation & repairPays less by −8%
- SciencePays less by −8%
- SalesPays less by −9%
- Healthcare practitionersPays less by −10%
- Construction & extractionPays less by −10%
- Computer & mathPays less by −11%
- LegalPays less by −11%
- Business & financePays less by −12%
- Arts, media & sportsPays less by −16%
- Transportation & movingPays less by −16%
- ManagementPays less by −19%
- Architecture & engineeringPays less by −24%
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
Healthcare support
3.6× the U.S. share
Least concentrated here
Architecture & engineering
0.3× the U.S. share
- Healthcare support3.6×
- Community & social service1.7×
- Personal care & service1.6×
- Farming, fishing & forestry1.3×
- Food service1.2×
- Production1.1×
- Education & library1.0×
- Cleaning & grounds1.0×
- Sales0.9×
- Healthcare practitioners0.9×
- Office & admin support0.9×
- Transportation & moving0.8×
- Installation & repair0.8×
- Construction & extraction0.8×
- Protective service0.7×
- Management0.6×
- Science0.6×
- Business & finance0.5×
- Arts, media & sports0.5×
- Legal0.4×
- Computer & math0.3×
- Architecture & engineering0.3×
Key takeaways
What this means for Josephine County.
Wages are rising
The average weekly wage is $995, up 3.1% from a year ago.
Where most people work
Healthcare support, food service and office & admin support are 39% of jobs, with median pay of $24.97, $17.42, $23.22 an hour.
Most workers fall short of the housing wage
About 39 in 100 workers earn the $26.83/hr needed to afford a 2-bedroom at 30% of income.
Unemployment is steady
7.7% in July 2026, 0.1 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, Grants Pass, 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.