Orchard in winter in southern Washington County, Oregon · Photo: M.O. Stevens · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Washington County, Oregon
603,947 residents · Updated Nov 12, 2026
Rental availability, asking rents against HUD Fair Market Rent, and community services in Washington County, from the data behind Range Lab’s tools, refreshed daily.
Washington County
Oregon
603,947 residents
16 ZIP codes with listings
928 services listed
All Oregon countiesOrchard in winter in southern Washington County, Oregon · Photo: M.O. Stevens · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
295,398
▼ 2.6%
vs. a year ago · Q1 2026
$1,882
▲ 9.2%
vs. a year ago · $47.05/hr
$34.60/hr
29 hrs/week
at the average wage to afford it
5.0%
▼ 0.1 pts
vs. a year ago · July 2026
$107,772
8.1%
below the poverty line · ACS 2024
Are wages keeping up with rent?
Average weekly wage and typical rent, both indexed to Q3 2023 = 100.
+9.2%wages vs. a year ago
| Q3 2023 | Wages 100.0 | Rent 100.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | Wages 97.6 | Rent 99.9 |
| Q1 2024 | Wages 101.7 | Rent 101.2 |
| Q2 2024 | Wages 96.0 | Rent 103.1 |
| Q3 2024 | Wages 99.8 | Rent 104.2 |
| Q4 2024 | Wages 104.9 | Rent 103.7 |
| Q1 2025 | Wages 99.9 | Rent 103.2 |
| Q2 2025 | Wages 95.6 | Rent 102.9 |
| Q3 2025 | Wages 103.1 | Rent 102.4 |
| Q4 2025 | Wages 102.7 | Rent 102.7 |
| Q1 2026 | Wages 109.0 | Rent 102.4 |
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 | 4.1% | 4.9% | 5.6% |
| February | 3.9% | 4.7% | 5.4% |
| March | 3.8% | 4.8% | 5.1% |
| April | 3.2% | 4.2% | 4.6% |
| May | 3.3% | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| June | 3.7% | 4.9% | 5.0% |
| July | 4.1% | 5.1% | 5.0% |
| August | 4.0% | 5.3% | — |
| September | 3.7% | 5.2% | — |
| October | 3.8% | — | — |
| November | 3.8% | 4.9% | — |
| December | 4.1% | 4.8% | — |
5.0%
▼ 0.1 pts
vs. July 2025
16,950
unemployed of a 341,638 labor force
July 2026
Who earns the housing wage?
Out of 100 Portland metro workers, how many are paid enough to afford each unit size at 30% of income. Estimated from BLS wage percentiles.
52 of 100
Studio
$28.56/hr · $1,485 rent
48 of 100
1 bedroom
$30.54/hr · $1,588 rent
42 of 100
2 bedroom
$34.60/hr · $1,799 rent
24 of 100
3 bedroom
$47.12/hr · $2,450 rent
Hourly pay, all workers
10th$29.18
Median$65.83
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 | $65.59/hr | 80,700 jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | $60.64/hr | 47,850 jobs |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | $59.46/hr | 64,540 jobs |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | $51.62/hr | 35,670 jobs |
| Legal Occupations | $47.59/hr | 9,650 jobs |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | $43.38/hr | 92,070 jobs |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | $41.67/hr | 12,590 jobs |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | $36.29/hr | 57,870 jobs |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | $32.99/hr | 22,020 jobs |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | $31.63/hr | 42,280 jobs |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | $31.50/hr | 69,610 jobs |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | $30.23/hr | 29,630 jobs |
| Protective Service Occupations | $26.23/hr | 22,330 jobs |
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | $25.40/hr | 127,020 jobs |
| Production Occupations | $24.94/hr | 67,410 jobs |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | $23.28/hr | 51,440 jobs |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | $22.76/hr | 104,320 jobs |
| Sales and Related Occupations | $21.96/hr | 96,000 jobs |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | $21.45/hr | 31,750 jobs |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | $20.00/hr | 33,470 jobs |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | $18.79/hr | 107,090 jobs |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | $18.78/hr | 3,090 jobs |
What different jobs pay vs. what’s needed for rent
Hourly pay range for each occupation group against the $34.60/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 Portland median against the statewide median, sorted by the gap.
- Portland metro$29.18
- Oregon$27.40
- United States$24.51
- Computer & mathPays more by +15%
- Construction & extractionPays more by +14%
- ManagementPays more by +9%
- SalesPays more by +9%
- SciencePays more by +8%
- LegalPays more by +8%
- Education & libraryPays more by +7%
- Arts, media & sportsPays more by +7%
- Business & financePays more by +7%
- Installation & repairPays more by +6%
- Cleaning & groundsPays more by +5%
- Farming, fishing & forestryPays more by +5%
- Office & admin supportPays more by +5%
- Healthcare practitionersPays more by +5%
- ProductionPays more by +4%
- Food servicePays more by +4%
- Architecture & engineeringPays more by +3%
- Healthcare supportPays more by +2%
- Transportation & movingPays more by +2%
- Community & social servicePays more by +2%
- Personal care & serviceAbout the same: 0%
- Protective servicePays less by −8%
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
Architecture & engineering
1.8× the U.S. share
Least concentrated here
Protective service
0.8× the U.S. share
- Architecture & engineering1.8×
- Community & social service1.4×
- Arts, media & sports1.4×
- Personal care & service1.3×
- Computer & math1.2×
- Construction & extraction1.2×
- Business & finance1.1×
- Science1.1×
- Production1.0×
- Food service1.0×
- Education & library1.0×
- Transportation & moving1.0×
- Legal0.9×
- Management0.9×
- Office & admin support0.9×
- Sales0.9×
- Farming, fishing & forestry0.9×
- Cleaning & grounds0.9×
- Installation & repair0.9×
- Healthcare practitioners0.8×
- Healthcare support0.8×
- Protective service0.8×
Key takeaways
What this means for Washington County.
Wages are rising
The average weekly wage is $1,882, up 9.2% from a year ago.
The biggest job groups pay the least
Office & admin support, food service and transportation & moving are 28% of jobs; all have median pay under $26/hr.
Most workers fall short of the housing wage
About 42 in 100 workers earn the $34.60/hr needed to afford a 2-bedroom at 30% of income.
Unemployment is steady
5.0% 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, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro 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.