West ranking
13 Oregon cities ranked by cost of living, cheapest first.
Index 100
Index 113
Sorted by cost-of-living index — lowest (most affordable) first.
| # | City | Cost index | Median rent | Median income | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medford | 100 | $1,214/mo | $65,647 | 86K | Compare → |
| 2 | Springfield | 100 | $1,126/mo | $60,982 | 62K | Compare → |
| 3 | Eugene | 101 | $1,269/mo | $61,481 | 177K | Compare → |
| 4 | Albany | 102 | $1,194/mo | $69,777 | 56K | Compare → |
| 5 | Salem | 106 | $1,224/mo | $67,540 | 176K | Compare → |
| 6 | Bend | 107 | $1,649/mo | $82,671 | 99K | Compare → |
| 7 | Corvallis | 108 | $1,315/mo | $61,610 | 60K | Compare → |
| 8 | Gresham | 112 | $1,452/mo | $69,437 | 114K | Compare → |
| 9 | Portland | 112 | $1,530/mo | $85,876 | 646K | Compare → |
| 10 | Tigard | 113 | $1,644/mo | $101,354 | 55K | Compare → |
| 11 | Beaverton | 113 | $1,663/mo | $88,899 | 98K | Compare → |
| 12 | Aloha | 113 | $1,749/mo | $90,533 | 54K | Compare → |
| 13 | Hillsboro | 113 | $1,797/mo | $98,891 | 107K | Compare → |
If you're weighing a move to Oregon, the case usually comes down to a few specific things — most clearly oregon pays better than the typical state and big-city jobs and amenities, in-state, plus 1 more. Here's the detail.
Median household income across Oregon cities averages about $77,284 — a step above the US median of around $75k. Not a uniformly high-wage state, but the labor market here pays more than most of the country.
Portland (population about 646,101) gives Oregon a genuine major-city anchor. Big airports, headquartered employers, professional sports, specialty hospitals, and the kind of job market you don't get in mid-sized towns — and you can live close to it or an hour away, depending on the lifestyle you want.
Oregon has Pacific coastline — meaning the ocean is reachable without a flight, and for plenty of residents it's reachable in under an hour. That changes the rhythm of a year: summer plans default to the water, the weather is moderated by being near it, and a lot of the state's culture is tied to fishing, ports, or beach towns.
Reasons reflect aggregated city data for Oregon (Census ACS, BLS, BEA) plus well-known state-level geography. We only list points that are actually supported — different states show different sections.
Across Oregon, Medford is the most affordable city we track (cost index 100, with median rent around $1,214/mo), while Hillsboro sits at the top of the range with an index of 113—roughly 13% pricier than Medford. Use the table above to compare any Oregon city directly against Medford.
The other end of the ranking — priciest first.