Golden hour in the forest (9589254500) · Photo: Sheila Sund from Salem, United States · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Marion County, Oregon
349,244 residents · Updated Nov 12, 2026
Rental availability, asking rents against HUD Fair Market Rent, and community services in Marion County, from the data behind Range Lab’s tools, refreshed daily.
Marion County
Oregon
349,244 residents
19 ZIP codes with listings
715 services listed
All Oregon countiesGolden hour in the forest (9589254500) · Photo: Sheila Sund from Salem, United States · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
173,739
▲ 1.6%
vs. a year ago · Q1 2026
$1,279
▲ 3.3%
vs. a year ago · $31.98/hr
$27.79/hr
35 hrs/week
at the average wage to afford it
5.3%
▼ 0.2 pts
vs. a year ago · July 2026
$77,351
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.
+3.3%wages vs. a year ago
| Q3 2023 | Wages 100.0 | Rent 100.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | Wages 96.8 | Rent 100.5 |
| Q1 2024 | Wages 104.6 | Rent 100.8 |
| Q2 2024 | Wages 103.9 | Rent 101.0 |
| Q3 2024 | Wages 104.7 | Rent 101.1 |
| Q4 2024 | Wages 110.2 | Rent 101.4 |
| Q1 2025 | Wages 108.5 | Rent 102.3 |
| Q2 2025 | Wages 108.3 | Rent 103.1 |
| Q3 2025 | Wages 110.7 | Rent 103.3 |
| Q4 2025 | Wages 114.3 | Rent 103.4 |
| Q1 2026 | Wages 112.1 | Rent 103.2 |
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 | 4.8% | 5.3% | 5.7% |
| February | 4.6% | 5.1% | 5.5% |
| March | 4.4% | 5.2% | 5.1% |
| April | 3.6% | 4.5% | 4.5% |
| May | 3.7% | 4.8% | 4.6% |
| June | 4.1% | 5.1% | 5.1% |
| July | 4.6% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| August | 4.5% | 5.3% | — |
| September | 4.0% | 4.9% | — |
| October | 4.0% | — | — |
| November | 4.2% | 4.7% | — |
| December | 4.5% | 4.9% | — |
5.3%
▼ 0.2 pts
vs. July 2025
9,754
unemployed of a 183,843 labor force
July 2026
Who earns the housing wage?
Out of 100 Salem metro workers, how many are paid enough to afford each unit size at 30% of income. Estimated from BLS wage percentiles.
56 of 100
Studio
$24.90/hr · $1,295 rent
66 of 100
1 bedroom
$22.12/hr · $1,150 rent
47 of 100
2 bedroom
$27.79/hr · $1,445 rent
22 of 100
3 bedroom
$42.31/hr · $2,200 rent
Hourly pay, all workers
10th$26.59
Median$56.91
90th
The biggest job groups pay the least
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 | $59.71/hr | 10,410 jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | $55.46/hr | 11,040 jobs |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | $49.35/hr | 5,000 jobs |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | $46.45/hr | 1,950 jobs |
| Legal Occupations | $42.90/hr | 1,620 jobs |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | $42.87/hr | 15,250 jobs |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | $41.65/hr | 1,860 jobs |
| Protective Service Occupations | $32.14/hr | 4,080 jobs |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | $30.83/hr | 4,910 jobs |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | $30.00/hr | 1,910 jobs |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | $29.70/hr | 9,880 jobs |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | $28.98/hr | 6,270 jobs |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | $27.87/hr | 13,440 jobs |
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | $24.58/hr | 21,840 jobs |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | $22.66/hr | 12,370 jobs |
| Production Occupations | $22.22/hr | 6,810 jobs |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | $21.88/hr | 15,780 jobs |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | $20.85/hr | 5,650 jobs |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | $20.00/hr | 5,790 jobs |
| Sales and Related Occupations | $18.04/hr | 13,370 jobs |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | $17.54/hr | 16,230 jobs |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | $16.18/hr | 3,150 jobs |
What different jobs pay vs. what’s needed for rent
Hourly pay range for each occupation group against the $27.79/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 Salem median against the statewide median, sorted by the gap.
- Salem metro$26.59
- Oregon$27.40
- United States$24.51
- Protective servicePays more by +13%
- SciencePays more by +8%
- Business & financePays more by +5%
- Community & social servicePays more by +4%
- Cleaning & groundsPays more by +3%
- Office & admin supportPays more by +1%
- Personal care & serviceAbout the same: 0%
- ManagementAbout the same: 0%
- Healthcare supportPays less by −1%
- Transportation & movingPays less by −2%
- Healthcare practitionersPays less by −2%
- Installation & repairPays less by −3%
- LegalPays less by −3%
- Arts, media & sportsPays less by −3%
- Food servicePays less by −3%
- Education & libraryPays less by −5%
- Computer & mathPays less by −6%
- Construction & extractionPays less by −7%
- Architecture & engineeringPays less by −7%
- ProductionPays less by −7%
- Farming, fishing & forestryPays less by −9%
- SalesPays less by −10%
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
6.0× the U.S. share
Least concentrated here
Architecture & engineering
0.6× the U.S. share
- Farming, fishing & forestry6.0×
- Community & social service1.5×
- Personal care & service1.5×
- Healthcare support1.3×
- Construction & extraction1.3×
- Education & library1.2×
- Business & finance1.2×
- Science1.0×
- Legal1.0×
- Cleaning & grounds1.0×
- Office & admin support1.0×
- Food service1.0×
- Transportation & moving0.9×
- Healthcare practitioners0.9×
- Protective service0.9×
- Installation & repair0.8×
- Sales0.8×
- Computer & math0.8×
- Management0.8×
- Arts, media & sports0.8×
- Production0.7×
- Architecture & engineering0.6×
Key takeaways
What this means for Marion County.
Wages are rising
The average weekly wage is $1,279, up 3.3% from a year ago.
The biggest job groups pay the least
Office & admin support, food service and transportation & moving are 29% of jobs; all have median pay under $25/hr.
Most workers fall short of the housing wage
About 47 in 100 workers earn the $27.79/hr needed to afford a 2-bedroom at 30% of income.
Unemployment is steady
5.3% in July 2026, 0.2 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, Salem, OR metro area, which covers 2 counties; BLS doesn’t publish occupational wages for single counties) · 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.