Oregon by the numbers
In Oregon, the median worker earns $53,390 a year, the typical home is worth $454,200 and carries $3,767 of property tax, and the average household pays $132 a month for electricity at 16.27¢ per kilowatt-hour.
West Western Interconnection / BPA Regulated monopoly
Energy
Oregon shares the Columbia River hydro system with Washington and draws on the same Bonneville Power Administration allocations. That remains the foundation of its rate.
Several things have pushed it up. Oregon's clean-energy law requires investor-owned utilities to reach zero emissions on a fixed schedule, which is driving procurement of new resources and transmission. Wildfire liability has become a major cost after catastrophic fire seasons produced litigation against utilities, raising both insurance costs and mitigation spending, including preemptive power shutoffs and extensive vegetation management.
Data-centre growth in the Columbia River basin has added large industrial load, and load growth requires capacity the existing hydro fleet cannot supply.
Averaged across the twelve months to May 2026, Oregon households used 854 kilowatt-hours a month and paid $132. At the state median wage that is about 5.1 hours of work a month to keep the lights on. For heating, a heat pump costs less to run than gas here, by about $0.94 per million BTU.
Work and pay
The median Oregon worker earned $53,390 in 2024, 7.9% above the national median. What distinguishes a state's labour market is rarely its biggest occupations, which are retail and food service everywhere, but what it has disproportionately.
| Occupation | Concentration | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | 28.44× | $37,900 |
| Semiconductor Processing Technicians | 17.27× | $61,470 |
| Woodworkers, All Other | 9.29× | $45,560 |
| Directors, Religious Activities and Education | 7.94× | $46,810 |
| Forest and Conservation Technicians | 6.94× | $55,810 |
Property tax
The median Oregon homeowner pays $3,767 a year on a home worth $454,200, an effective rate of 0.83% against a national 0.98%. Nobody sets that rate. It is what falls out of county, city, school district and special district levies applied to an assessed value, so the state figure is a weighted average of 33 counties rather than a posted number.
Cost of living
Prices in Oregon run at 103.4 where the national average is 100, ranking it #12 of 51. Goods sit at 105.3, which is close to national almost everywhere because most goods are shipped and priced nationally. Rents sit at 108.6, and that is where states actually separate from one another. A median wage of $53,390 therefore buys what $51,634 buys nationally.
Metro areas priced separately: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro (105.4) , Corvallis (104.0) , Bend (103.6) , Salem (103.6) , Albany (102.1) .
Housing
House prices in Oregon rose 0.2% over the year to 2026 Q2, against a median across all states of +2.7%. Over ten years the index is +77.9%. Prices are at or near their record level.
Metro areas tracked here: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro (-0.8%) .
Who supplies the power
23 utilities report residential service in Oregon, together serving 1.8 million customers. Regulated monopoly.
Oregon: common questions
What does it cost to live in Oregon?
Prices overall run at 103.4 against a national average of 100, with rents at 108.6. The typical home is worth $454,200 and carries $3,767 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.83% against a national 0.98%. Electricity averages $132 a month at 16.27¢ per kilowatt-hour. Against that, the median wage is $53,390.
What is the property tax rate in Oregon?
The effective rate is 0.83% of home value, from a median bill of $3,767. It is set locally rather than by the state, so the figure is a weighted outcome across 33 counties. County by county rates.
Does a salary go further in Oregon?
The median wage of $53,390 buys what $51,634 buys nationally, once local prices are taken out. A state paying above the national median while charging above it for housing can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows which side of that line Oregon falls on.
Is Oregon expensive for electricity?
It ranks #26 of 51 jurisdictions on price at 16.27¢ per kilowatt-hour, -11.8% against the U.S. average. On the actual bill it ranks 36 of 51, because households there use 854 kWh a month against a national 871.
What is the median salary in Oregon?
$53,390 across all occupations, about $25.67 an hour, covering 1,965,700 wage and salary workers as of 2024.
Who supplies electricity in Oregon?
23 utilities report residential service, the largest being Portland General Electric Co with 828,857 customers. Regulated monopoly.
Electricity May 2026, gas 2024, utilities 2024, wages 2024. All figures from federal statistical agencies. Methodology · Sources