Oregon’s Median Household Income Grew by 6.2% in 2016

Oregon’s median income is now on par with the national median after several decades of lagging behind. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that Oregon’s median income is currently $57,532 compared with the national median of $57,617. The last time Oregon’s median income was within reach of the national median was in the late 1970s, but the state has since lagged behind due to the decline of the timber industry as well as housing crashes in the 1980s and 2000s. Since the late 2000s, income in the state has been growing at a steady clip, with Portland seeing big gains beginning in 2013. Salem and Bend have begun to outpace Portland in job growth over the last couple of years, and poverty rates in rural parts of the state have been declining. In 2016 the state’s median income grew by 6.2%, outpacing every state except Idaho and Massachusetts. Read more.