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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Premium market, smart picks: while Oregon trends above the national average, the gap between the most and least expensive cities here is wider than you'd think. Salem at index 105 is the standout — offering meaningful savings without leaving Oregon.
#1 Ranked: Salem — cost index 105, rent $1,600/mo, income $71,900
3 of 5 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 112
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Premium market, smart picks: while Oregon trends above the national average, the gap between the most and least expensive cities here is wider than you'd think. Salem at index 105 is the standout — offering meaningful savings without leaving Oregon.
The #1 spot goes to Salem, and the breakdown explains why. And for many people, renters here pay $1,600/month — not a number you see very often, by the way — — saving renters $3,540 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 97, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 113. A 27% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. And broadly, the difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
177,432 residents · Oregon
At $1,600/month for rent and a cost index of 105, Salem is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $71,900. It lines up with what you'd expect.
110,685 residents · Oregon
A closer look at Gresham: the cost index of 107 — we had to double-check this one — breaks down to a Utilities index of 98 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 117 (weakest). Median rent is $1,594/month — 16% below the national median — while household income sits at $73,608, meaning locals spend about 26% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room. Surprising? Maybe. But the data's clear.
630,498 residents · Oregon
Why Portland ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. And generally speaking, at 111 on the cost index, residents save roughly 1% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,710/month while the median household pulls in $88,792/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 102, though Housing (128) lags behind. Home prices average $524,251 — $56,881 above the national median.
177,899 residents · Oregon
Here's Eugene by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. Cost index: 113. Rent: $1,988/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — . Income: $63,836/year. Home price: $467,032. Population: 177,899. The strongest category is Utilities at 104; the most expensive is Housing at 133. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are costing renters $1,116 more per year vs. the national median. That's a margin of safety most budgets don't have.
107,730 residents · Oregon
Dive into Hillsboro's numbers: cost index 114 (2 points above national average), rent $1,869/month, income $103,207, and a home price of $516,726. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 104, while Housing runs 134. With 107,730 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Cities are ranked by overall cost of living index in ascending order. This index weights housing (Zillow ZORI rent data) most heavily, with food, transportation, utilities, and healthcare sub-indices providing a composite picture. A score of 80 means overall costs are 20% below the national median. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Salem ranks #1 in Oregon for this analysis with a cost index of 105 and median income of $71,900.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Salem (ranked #1) has a cost index of 105 and rent of $1,600/mo, while Hillsboro (ranked #5) has a cost index of 114 and rent of $1,869/mo — a 9-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Salem is $1,600/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $295 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Salem is $432,341, which is 6.0× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Oregon has a 9.9% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 0%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.87%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.