Oregon's housing crisis has deep historical roots, worsened by decades of building less housing than needed to keep up with Oregon's rapid population growth and wages. This crisis continues to disproportionately impact low-income households and BIPOC communities.
The findings in the State of the State's Housing Report make it clear that OHCS cannot solve the issues facing the people of Oregon on its own. Factors beyond housing affect whether people can thrive in today's economy. It will take continued investment in effective solutions from the Legislature and requires coordination and collaboration between local, state, and federal agencies and partners to ensure housing stability for all Oregonians.
Data tables and calculations are available upon request. Please reach out to Brandon Schrader at hcs_research@hcs.oregon.gov if you’re interested in learning more.
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Report highlights
The State of the State Housing Report gives a high-level view of Oregon's housing state. Diving into key housing data and trends, the report aims to provide insight into some of the most pressing matters affecting housing affordability and its impacts on Oregonians.
Oregon’s housing crisis rapidly devolved in the mid-2010’s as new residents outpaced permitted units by more than 3 to 1
Between 2015 and 2019, Oregon’s population grew by three residents for every new housing unit, significantly worsening the housing shortage and doubling the national average growth rate annually.
Source: OHCS Tabulation of Portland State Population Research Center, Population Estimates, 2003 – 2023; U.S. Census, Residential Building Permits Survey, Annual Estimates, 2003 – 2023
There is a gap in affordable housing for extremely low and very low-income households
Approximately 242,000 households fall into these categories, yet Oregon only offers approximately 113,000 housing units that are both affordable and available to them, resulting in a deficit of 128,000 units for these households. For housing to be considered affordable, a household must not spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs.
Another way to understand this gap is that for every unit affordable to an ELI household, there are 4.2 families in need of such housing. The lack of affordable options forces people to accept housing beyond their financial means, leading to cost burden, financial instability, and, in some cases, homelessness.
Source: OHCS Tabulation of CHAS 5-Year Estimates, 2016-2020
Home prices increased by $68,000 from May to September 2020 representing the prior 3.5 years of growth in only five months
Following a brief decline in spring 2020, prices for single-family homes soared by over $68,000 in just five months—an increase that typically spans several years of growth. Factors such as heightened demand for larger homes, supply chain disruptions, remote work arrangements, and other pandemic-related influences likely contributed to this sharp escalation in prices.
Source: OHCS Tabulation of National Association of Realtors MLS Data, Median Sales Price, Seasonally and Inflation Adjusted, 2012-2023
The homeownership gap improved for BIPOC groups since 2013, but widened for Black and Native American communities. Other race and ethnicities remain far below white ownership rates
Examining housing affordability by race and ethnicity can help show the significant homeownership gaps. As of 2022, 65.8% of white Oregonians owned their homes, while only 50.5% of BIPOC Oregonians were homeowners, representing a 15.3% gap. This is an improvement from a decade ago when the homeownership gap was 18.9%. However, this misses an essential piece of the puzzle. For Black and Native American communities, the gap hasn’t improved since 2013 due to slow or nonexistent growth in homeownership.
In 2013, only 34.9% of Black residents owned their homes; in 2022, that figure was 34.0%, remaining essentially unchanged. This gap is the result of exclusionary policies, wealth gaps, and institutional barriers that prevent BIPOC communities from buying a home.
Source: American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates S2502, 2018 – 2023; HUD, Median Family Income Limits, 2022
Renter income outpaced rent leading up to the pandemic but were eclipsed by record inflation and rapidly increasing rent between 2020 and 2022
When examining costs by year, the average rent for all units increased slowly between 2017 and 2020, rising from $1,261 to $1,281. In contrast, average rents in Oregon surged by 7% (nearly $100) between 2020 and 2021 and then by almost 9% (about $169) going into 2022. Over these two years, Oregonians found themselves spending $3,328 more on rent than they had before the COVID-19 pandemic. This was compounded by slow income growth for rental households, largely due to inflationary pressures. Between 2020 and 2022, an additional $2 went towards rent for every dollar increase in wages amid the global pandemic.
Source: OHCS Tabulation of ApartmentList Rent Index Data, Inflation Adjusted, 2012 – 2023; American Community Survey, 1- Year Estimates S2503, Inflation Adjusted, 2017-2022
Of the 20 fastest growing occupations, 13 can’t afford a 1-br apartment
To avoid experiencing a rent burden, a renter should spend no more than 30% of their monthly income on housing costs. With the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment at $1,254 in 2023, a person would need to earn $50,166 to avoid experiencing a rent burden. Anyone earning less than this amount would be rent burdened by the cost of a typical apartment. About 48% of occupational groups have average wages meeting this definition and will account for 44% of job creation projected through 2032.
Source: OHCS Tabulation of Employment Department Wage Information and Employment Projects, 2022 – 2032 and Apartments List, Historic Rent Estimates, 2022
BIPOC communities are disproportionately impacted by rent burden
Rent burdens disproportionately affect certain groups, such as BIPOC communities, people with disabilities, and people who identify as women. These groups are not only overrepresented among renters but also tend to have lower incomes due to wage gaps and systemic oppression, creating a compounded disadvantage.
Source: OHCS Tabulation of CHAS Data 5-Year Estimates, 2016-2020
Oregon ranks worst in the country for unsheltered homelessness among children according to 2023 PIT data
Oregon ranks #1 for unsheltered child homelessness, with a rate of 19.9 per 10,000 children. This rate is more than 14 times higher than the national average of 1.4 and 2.75 times worse than Hawaii, which has a rate of 7.2. Data from McKinney-Vento reports suggest that child homelessness is increasing, with the number of homeless students rising by 17% and the share of homeless students in total enrollment increasing from 3.32% to 3.89% between the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years.
Nine school districts reported a "high" rate of student homelessness, with over 10% of their students experiencing homelessness; two rural districts had rates of 20% or more. The lifelong trauma caused by the instability of homelessness can profoundly impact a child’s well-being.
Source: OHCS Tabulation of Point-in-Time Survey Data, 2007-2023