SALEM, Ore. (Mar. 24, 2026) — Inflation may be easing, but Oregon remains one of the most expensive states in the nation for basic living costs, according to a new analysis.
A report from the Common Sense Institute found Oregon ranks as the fifth least affordable state in the country when comparing household income to essential expenses such as housing, groceries, insurance and child care. The ranking is unchanged from 2019.
The analysis, based on federal data and state-level modeling, found Oregon households must spend about $18,300 more annually to cover essentials than they did in 2019, compared with a $15,400 increase nationwide. While household incomes in Oregon rose nearly 34% between 2019 and 2025, that growth slightly lagged rising costs, leaving households effectively losing 2.4% of their gross income to higher prices.
“Headline inflation may be cooling, but affordability is still moving in the wrong direction,” said Zachary Milne, a senior economist at the institute. “In Oregon, the cost of essentials has grown faster than incomes since the pandemic, meaning families are effectively worse off today than they were pre-2020.”
The Common Sense Institute, founded in Colorado and now operating in multiple states including Oregon, describes itself as nonpartisan and focused on free-market policy solutions. Some of its staff and board members have ties to Republican politics, including Lynn Snodgrass, a former Oregon House speaker. Other board members include Jenny Pakula, treasurer for the Oregon Realtors PAC, and Angela Wilhelms, CEO of the state’s largest business group.
The report identified housing and child care as the primary drivers of Oregon’s affordability challenges.
Between 2019 and 2025, costs increased across key categories:
• Shelter and utilities rose by $5,904
• Child care increased by $7,530
• Groceries climbed by $3,204
• Car insurance rose by $947
• Gasoline increased by $488
• Health insurance rose by $180
Housing costs alone account for 21.3% of household income in Oregon, ranking the state as the 10th least affordable for housing. Prices for shelter and utilities increased 33.4% during the period.
Child care costs were another major burden, making up 19.2% of household income — also the 10th highest share nationally. The report found child care costs surged 55.4% between 2019 and 2025, the largest increase among all essential categories. For families with children, those rising costs have been especially difficult.
Overall, the analysis found Oregon households must devote 1.2% more of their monthly gross income to essential expenses than they did in 2019.
The report noted that while some categories — including groceries, health insurance and gasoline — became slightly more affordable relative to income, prices in those areas still increased. Grocery costs, for example, rose 25.1% over the period, but their share of household income declined slightly because wages grew faster.
Taxes also contributed to affordability challenges, according to the report, which found Oregon households face one of the highest overall tax burdens in the country, including the second-highest state income tax burden.
To compare affordability across states, the institute used a standardized “modeled household” consisting of two full-time working adults earning the median wage and two children. The analysis examined seven categories: housing and utilities, groceries, health insurance, car insurance, gasoline, child care and combined state and federal taxes.
The report drew on multiple data sources, including the American Community Survey, U.S. Department of Agriculture food cost estimates, the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, and data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, AAA and Child Care Aware of America.
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