2021-11-20 Center Ridge Schoolhouse and Mount Adams · Photo: Ian Sane · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wasco County, Oregon
26,552 residents · Updated Nov 12, 2026
Rental availability, asking rents against HUD Fair Market Rent, and community services in Wasco County, from the data behind Range Lab’s tools, refreshed daily.
2021-11-20 Center Ridge Schoolhouse and Mount Adams · Photo: Ian Sane · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
10,455
▼ 1.6%
vs. a year ago · Q1 2026
$1,199
▲ 4.3%
vs. a year ago · $29.98/hr
$31.73/hr
42 hrs/week
at the average wage to afford it
4.1%
● 0.0 pts
vs. a year ago · July 2026
$64,175
11.6%
below the poverty line · ACS 2024
Are wages keeping up with rent?
Average weekly wage and typical rent, both indexed to Q1 2025 = 100.
+4.3%wages vs. a year ago
| Q1 2025 | Wages 100.0 | Rent 100.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | Wages 90.9 | Rent 101.4 |
| Q3 2025 | Wages 96.2 | Rent 101.6 |
| Q4 2025 | Wages 105.7 | Rent 101.5 |
| Q1 2026 | Wages 104.3 | Rent 101.7 |
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 | 5.7% | 6.2% | 6.5% |
| February | 5.4% | 5.8% | 6.2% |
| March | 4.8% | 5.7% | 5.5% |
| April | 4.0% | 4.6% | 4.8% |
| May | 3.9% | 5.0% | 4.9% |
| June | 3.6% | 4.3% | 4.4% |
| July | 3.5% | 4.1% | 4.1% |
| August | 4.5% | 5.5% | — |
| September | 4.1% | 5.2% | — |
| October | 4.3% | — | — |
| November | 4.5% | 5.3% | — |
| December | 5.0% | 5.4% | — |
4.1%
● 0.0 pts
vs. July 2025
713
unemployed of a 17,256 labor force
July 2026
Who earns the housing wage?
Out of 100 Central Oregon nonmetro workers, how many are paid enough to afford each unit size at 30% of income. Estimated from BLS wage percentiles.
52 of 100
Studio
$22.60/hr · $1,175 rent
35 of 100
1 bedroom
$29.10/hr · $1,513 rent
29 of 100
2 bedroom
$31.73/hr · $1,650 rent
16 of 100
3 bedroom
$43.27/hr · $2,250 rent
Hourly pay, all workers
10th$23.10
Median$49.40
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.
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | $53.25/hr | 2,800 jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Management Occupations | $49.20/hr | 2,730 jobs |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | $45.42/hr | 640 jobs |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | $42.45/hr | 720 jobs |
| Legal Occupations | $35.88/hr | 210 jobs |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | $35.81/hr | 2,010 jobs |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | $31.77/hr | 1,070 jobs |
| Protective Service Occupations | $30.56/hr | 1,150 jobs |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | $29.22/hr | 2,280 jobs |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | $28.53/hr | 1,740 jobs |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | $28.30/hr | 2,430 jobs |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | $24.47/hr | 3,460 jobs |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | $23.34/hr | 400 jobs |
| Production Occupations | $23.14/hr | 2,600 jobs |
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | $22.34/hr | 5,680 jobs |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | $20.70/hr | 2,350 jobs |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | $19.30/hr | 1,380 jobs |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | $19.14/hr | 4,530 jobs |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | $18.26/hr | 1,650 jobs |
| Sales and Related Occupations | $17.88/hr | 4,130 jobs |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | $17.47/hr | 560 jobs |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | $17.37/hr | 5,640 jobs |
What different jobs pay vs. what’s needed for rent
Hourly pay range for each occupation group against the $31.73/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 Central Oregon nonmetro median against the statewide median, sorted by the gap.
- Central Oregon nonmetro$23.10
- Oregon$27.40
- United States$24.51
- Protective servicePays more by +7%
- Farming, fishing & forestryPays less by −2%
- ProductionPays less by −3%
- Personal care & servicePays less by −3%
- Community & social servicePays less by −4%
- Food servicePays less by −4%
- Installation & repairPays less by −5%
- Healthcare practitionersPays less by −6%
- Office & admin supportPays less by −8%
- Construction & extractionPays less by −8%
- Architecture & engineeringPays less by −9%
- Healthcare supportPays less by −9%
- Cleaning & groundsPays less by −10%
- SalesPays less by −11%
- Business & financePays less by −12%
- Transportation & movingPays less by −14%
- Education & libraryPays less by −17%
- SciencePays less by −18%
- ManagementPays less by −18%
- LegalPays less by −19%
- Computer & mathPays less by −20%
- Arts, media & sportsPays less by −25%
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
4.0× the U.S. share
Least concentrated here
Computer & math
0.4× the U.S. share
- Farming, fishing & forestry4.0×
- Science2.3×
- Community & social service2.0×
- Personal care & service1.3×
- Food service1.3×
- Installation & repair1.2×
- Education & library1.2×
- Cleaning & grounds1.1×
- Construction & extraction1.1×
- Transportation & moving1.0×
- Office & admin support1.0×
- Sales0.9×
- Protective service0.9×
- Production0.9×
- Healthcare support0.9×
- Healthcare practitioners0.9×
- Management0.8×
- Architecture & engineering0.8×
- Arts, media & sports0.6×
- Business & finance0.6×
- Legal0.5×
- Computer & math0.4×
Key takeaways
What this means for Wasco County.
Wages are rising
The average weekly wage is $1,199, up 4.3% from a year ago.
The biggest job groups pay the least
Office & admin support, food service and transportation & moving are 32% of jobs; all have median pay under $23/hr.
Most workers fall short of the housing wage
About 29 in 100 workers earn the $31.73/hr needed to afford a 2-bedroom at 30% of income.
Unemployment is steady
4.1% in July 2026, the same as 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, Central Oregon nonmetropolitan area, which covers 7 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.