Most Oregon renters’ full-time wages aren’t enough to comfortably afford rent

Oregon’s minimum wage is among the country’s highest, but according to a new study a typical renter must earn more than twice that much to afford a modest apartment.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition on Wednesday released its annual “Out of Reach” report, which examines how much residents of U.S. states and counties must earn to avoid spending more than 30% of their income on rent — the federal government standard for housing to be considered affordable.

According to the study, Oregon renters must earn $29.72 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

Only about 1 in 20 Oregon workers earn the minimum wage, according to the state employment department.

But the $29.72 housing wage identified in the study is also about $7 more than the average wage for an Oregon renter, and more than double Oregon’s standard minimum wage. As of July 1, the state’s standard minimum wage will increase to $14.20.

The minimum wage is higher in Oregon’s most populous counties, and higher still in the Portland metro area.

But housing is also more expensive in the Portland metro area, where tenants on average must earn $35.37 an hour to afford a two-bedroom rental.

Hood River County was also higher than the state average, with renters needing to earn about $33 to rent a two-bedroom.

The report found that rising rents, combined with the end of most pandemic-era safety nets, has led to more evictions and rising homelessness nationwide.

Oregon has also seen evictions surpass pre-pandemic levels since October, when the last of Oregon’s pandemic-era renter protections expired.

And Oregon’s rent control law, tied to inflation, permitted landlords to raise rents by as much as 14.6% this year for buildings constructed more than 15 years ago. Rents increased an average of 3.6% over the past year.

Oregon’s housing rate is one of the highest in the nation, but falls well below states like California and Hawaii, where tenants must earn more than $40 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

The study also examined high rental prices’ disproportionate impact on renters of color — particularly Black, Latino and Indigenous tenants.

Nationally, white tenants on average earn $2.23 more than necessary to afford a single-bedroom apartment, but Black and Latino workers earn more than $1.80 below the necessary rate. And Black and Latina women fare even worse, on average earning between $4 and $5.50 less than the necessary rate to afford a one-bedroom apartment. The study did not provide those breakdowns for individual states.

—Jayati Ramakrishnan; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com