NToutle Plain panorama 8883 · Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cowlitz County, Washington
112,360 residents · Updated Nov 12, 2026
Rental availability, asking rents against HUD Fair Market Rent, and community services in Cowlitz County, from the data behind Range Lab’s tools, refreshed daily.
Cowlitz County
Washington
112,360 residents
5 ZIP codes with listings
207 services listed
All Washington countiesNToutle Plain panorama 8883 · Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
40,705
▼ 0.4%
vs. a year ago · Q1 2026
$1,378
▲ 3.7%
vs. a year ago · $34.45/hr
$24.90/hr
29 hrs/week
at the average wage to afford it
4.3%
▼ 0.8 pts
vs. a year ago · July 2026
$76,531
12.2%
below the poverty line · ACS 2024
Are wages keeping up with rent?
Average weekly wage and typical rent, both indexed to Q3 2023 = 100.
+3.7%wages vs. a year ago
| Q3 2023 | Wages 100.0 | Rent 100.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | Wages 105.4 | Rent 100.5 |
| Q1 2024 | Wages 104.6 | Rent 99.5 |
| Q2 2024 | Wages 104.8 | Rent 100.7 |
| Q3 2024 | Wages 106.3 | Rent 100.6 |
| Q4 2024 | Wages 109.2 | Rent 103.3 |
| Q1 2025 | Wages 108.6 | Rent 103.9 |
| Q2 2025 | Wages 108.0 | Rent 104.7 |
| Q3 2025 | Wages 110.3 | Rent 105.9 |
| Q4 2025 | Wages 113.5 | Rent 105.3 |
| Q1 2026 | Wages 112.6 | Rent 106.6 |
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 | 5.8% | 5.5% | 6.0% |
| February | 6.4% | 6.2% | 6.0% |
| March | 5.6% | 5.4% | 5.9% |
| April | 4.6% | 4.9% | 5.7% |
| May | 4.9% | 5.0% | 5.4% |
| June | 4.4% | 4.3% | 5.0% |
| July | 5.2% | 5.1% | 4.3% |
| August | 5.3% | 5.4% | — |
| September | 4.3% | 4.6% | — |
| October | 4.6% | — | — |
| November | 5.1% | 5.7% | — |
| December | 5.2% | 6.2% | — |
4.3%
▼ 0.8 pts
vs. July 2025
2,001
unemployed of a 46,491 labor force
July 2026
Who earns the housing wage?
Out of 100 Longview 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
$17.21/hr · $895 rent
81 of 100
1 bedroom
$20.19/hr · $1,050 rent
61 of 100
2 bedroom
$24.90/hr · $1,295 rent
23 of 100
3 bedroom
$40.29/hr · $2,095 rent
Hourly pay, all workers
10th$27.61
Median$54.76
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.
| Management Occupations | $65.82/hr | 1,590 jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | $56.26/hr | 1,890 jobs |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | $48.88/hr | 580 jobs |
| Legal Occupations | $48.64/hr | 170 jobs |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | $45.98/hr | 480 jobs |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | $38.80/hr | 1,730 jobs |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | $38.72/hr | 350 jobs |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | $36.07/hr | 2,380 jobs |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | $35.86/hr | 2,610 jobs |
| Protective Service Occupations | $35.02/hr | 580 jobs |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | $32.14/hr | 410 jobs |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | $31.55/hr | 850 jobs |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | $29.65/hr | 2,490 jobs |
| Production Occupations | $27.73/hr | 4,360 jobs |
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | $25.96/hr | 4,570 jobs |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | $23.64/hr | 340 jobs |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | $23.46/hr | 4,290 jobs |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | $23.00/hr | 2,810 jobs |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | $21.52/hr | 1,060 jobs |
| Sales and Related Occupations | $20.49/hr | 3,590 jobs |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | $20.48/hr | 520 jobs |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | $18.43/hr | 3,420 jobs |
What different jobs pay vs. what’s needed for rent
Hourly pay range for each occupation group against the $24.90/hr housing wage. The last column is the weekly hours the median worker needs to afford a 2-bedroom.
Pay compared with Washington and the U.S.
Median hourly wage for all occupations, then each group’s Longview median against the statewide median, sorted by the gap.
- Longview metro$27.61
- Washington$30.28
- United States$24.51
- Farming, fishing & forestryPays more by +66%
- Protective servicePays more by +17%
- Installation & repairPays more by +9%
- Healthcare practitionersPays more by +8%
- ProductionPays more by +4%
- Healthcare supportPays less by −1%
- Construction & extractionPays less by −1%
- Cleaning & groundsPays less by −2%
- Community & social servicePays less by −3%
- Transportation & movingPays less by −3%
- Office & admin supportPays less by −5%
- LegalPays less by −6%
- Education & libraryPays less by −7%
- Personal care & servicePays less by −10%
- SalesPays less by −10%
- Food servicePays less by −14%
- ManagementPays less by −14%
- SciencePays less by −14%
- Architecture & engineeringPays less by −15%
- Business & financePays less by −18%
- Arts, media & sportsPays less by −24%
- Computer & mathPays less by −26%
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
3.6× the U.S. share
Least concentrated here
Computer & math
0.4× the U.S. share
- Farming, fishing & forestry3.6×
- Production1.9×
- Construction & extraction1.5×
- Installation & repair1.5×
- Healthcare support1.3×
- Community & social service1.2×
- Transportation & moving1.2×
- Education & library1.0×
- Sales1.0×
- Office & admin support1.0×
- Food service0.9×
- Science0.9×
- Cleaning & grounds0.9×
- Healthcare practitioners0.7×
- Architecture & engineering0.7×
- Business & finance0.6×
- Arts, media & sports0.6×
- Personal care & service0.6×
- Protective service0.6×
- Management0.5×
- Legal0.5×
- Computer & math0.4×
Key takeaways
What this means for Cowlitz County.
Wages are rising
The average weekly wage is $1,378, up 3.7% from a year ago.
Where most people work
Office & admin support, production and transportation & moving are 32% of jobs, with median pay of $25.96, $27.73, $23.46 an hour.
Most workers earn the housing wage
About 61 in 100 workers earn the $24.90/hr needed to afford a 2-bedroom at 30% of income.
Unemployment is falling
4.3% in July 2026, 0.8 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, Longview-Kelso, WA 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.