Early Morning Through the Lava Fields (15602404920) · Photo: Kirt Edblom from Corvallis, Oregon, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Linn County, Oregon
130,706 residents · Updated Nov 12, 2026
Rental availability, asking rents against HUD Fair Market Rent, and community services in Linn County, from the data behind Range Lab’s tools, refreshed daily.
Early Morning Through the Lava Fields (15602404920) · Photo: Kirt Edblom from Corvallis, Oregon, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
47,521
▼ 1.9%
vs. a year ago · Q1 2026
$1,176
▲ 4.0%
vs. a year ago · $29.40/hr
$28.62/hr
39 hrs/week
at the average wage to afford it
5.5%
▼ 0.3 pts
vs. a year ago · July 2026
$76,329
13.0%
below the poverty line · ACS 2024
Are wages keeping up with rent?
Average weekly wage and typical rent, both indexed to Q3 2023 = 100.
+4.0%wages vs. a year ago
| Q3 2023 | Wages 100.0 | Rent 100.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | Wages 103.2 | Rent 100.6 |
| Q1 2024 | Wages 102.2 | Rent 101.0 |
| Q2 2024 | Wages 104.9 | Rent 101.9 |
| Q3 2024 | Wages 105.7 | Rent 102.9 |
| Q4 2024 | Wages 107.9 | Rent 103.5 |
| Q1 2025 | Wages 107.7 | Rent 103.8 |
| Q2 2025 | Wages 107.7 | Rent 104.6 |
| Q3 2025 | Wages 109.2 | Rent 105.1 |
| Q4 2025 | Wages 111.5 | Rent 105.5 |
| Q1 2026 | Wages 112.0 | Rent 106.2 |
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 | 5.3% | 5.8% | 6.2% |
| February | 5.1% | 5.6% | 5.9% |
| March | 5.0% | 5.7% | 5.5% |
| April | 4.1% | 5.2% | 4.9% |
| May | 4.2% | 5.3% | 5.0% |
| June | 4.6% | 5.6% | 5.5% |
| July | 5.1% | 5.8% | 5.5% |
| August | 5.0% | 5.9% | — |
| September | 4.6% | 5.7% | — |
| October | 4.5% | — | — |
| November | 4.6% | 5.2% | — |
| December | 5.0% | 5.3% | — |
5.5%
▼ 0.3 pts
vs. July 2025
3,426
unemployed of a 62,091 labor force
July 2026
Who earns the housing wage?
Out of 100 Albany metro workers, how many are paid enough to afford each unit size at 30% of income. Estimated from BLS wage percentiles.
90+ of 100
Studio
$16.35/hr · $850 rent
50 of 100
1 bedroom
$24.04/hr · $1,250 rent
39 of 100
2 bedroom
$28.62/hr · $1,488 rent
19 of 100
3 bedroom
$40.38/hr · $2,100 rent
Hourly pay, all workers
10th$23.90
Median$48.32
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 | $51.20/hr | 1,810 jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Management Occupations | $49.70/hr | 2,260 jobs |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | $46.08/hr | 580 jobs |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | $44.61/hr | 500 jobs |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | $40.69/hr | 370 jobs |
| Legal Occupations | $38.02/hr | 140 jobs |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | $36.72/hr | 1,820 jobs |
| Protective Service Occupations | $33.57/hr | 660 jobs |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | $30.23/hr | 2,280 jobs |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | $30.12/hr | 1,190 jobs |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | $29.52/hr | 2,590 jobs |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | $26.80/hr | 3,100 jobs |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | $26.05/hr | 360 jobs |
| Production Occupations | $25.83/hr | 5,320 jobs |
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | $23.47/hr | 4,780 jobs |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | $22.67/hr | 5,950 jobs |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | $22.51/hr | 2,560 jobs |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | $22.26/hr | 610 jobs |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | $20.00/hr | 1,650 jobs |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | $18.88/hr | 1,220 jobs |
| Sales and Related Occupations | $18.01/hr | 3,580 jobs |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | $17.20/hr | 3,940 jobs |
What different jobs pay vs. what’s needed for rent
Hourly pay range for each occupation group against the $28.62/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 Albany median against the statewide median, sorted by the gap.
- Albany metro$23.90
- Oregon$27.40
- United States$24.51
- Farming, fishing & forestryPays more by +25%
- Protective servicePays more by +18%
- ProductionPays more by +8%
- SciencePays more by +5%
- Transportation & movingPays more by +2%
- Installation & repairPays more by +2%
- Community & social servicePays more by +1%
- Personal care & serviceAbout the same: 0%
- Healthcare supportPays less by −1%
- Office & admin supportPays less by −3%
- Food servicePays less by −5%
- Construction & extractionPays less by −7%
- Cleaning & groundsPays less by −7%
- Architecture & engineeringPays less by −8%
- Education & libraryPays less by −9%
- Healthcare practitionersPays less by −10%
- Business & financePays less by −10%
- SalesPays less by −10%
- LegalPays less by −14%
- Computer & mathPays less by −15%
- Arts, media & sportsPays less by −16%
- ManagementPays less by −17%
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
Farming, fishing & forestry
4.6× the U.S. share
Least concentrated here
Computer & math
0.3× the U.S. share
- Farming, fishing & forestry4.6×
- Production2.0×
- Personal care & service1.7×
- Community & social service1.5×
- Transportation & moving1.4×
- Construction & extraction1.3×
- Installation & repair1.2×
- Education & library1.1×
- Healthcare support1.1×
- Food service0.9×
- Office & admin support0.9×
- Cleaning & grounds0.9×
- Sales0.9×
- Science0.8×
- Architecture & engineering0.7×
- Management0.7×
- Healthcare practitioners0.6×
- Arts, media & sports0.6×
- Business & finance0.6×
- Protective service0.6×
- Legal0.3×
- Computer & math0.3×
Key takeaways
What this means for Linn County.
Wages are rising
The average weekly wage is $1,176, up 4.0% from a year ago.
Where most people work
Transportation & moving, production and office & admin support are 34% of jobs, with median pay of $22.67, $25.83, $23.47 an hour.
Most workers fall short of the housing wage
About 39 in 100 workers earn the $28.62/hr needed to afford a 2-bedroom at 30% of income.
Unemployment is falling
5.5% in July 2026, 0.3 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, Albany, 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.