Poverty and Prosperity Part 5: Oregon's Average Household Income

A multitude of wage and income measures are produced by the federal government, state governments, and private entities. Many of these measures attempt to gauge the relative prosperity or poverty of Oregon's individuals and households.

While each measure varies in purpose, scope and definition, they all help illustrate the financial situation of Oregon's individuals and families...

Oregon's Average Household Income
Both the average covered pay and PCPI provide only a single piece of information about the income of Oregonians. Neither piece of data illustrates the wide differences in annual income from one person or family to the next. The U.S. Census Bureau, however, conducts an annual survey that provides some insight into this topic – the American Community Survey.

The graph above uses this data to show the income distribution for Oregon’s households in 2007. The portion of households in the highest and lowest income groups were about the same, with seven percent of households earning less than $10,000 and six percent earning $150,000 or more. The graph clearly shows that there is a significant amount of variation in earnings among Oregon’s households.

No one wage or income measure is relevant to all questions about the poverty or prosperity of Oregon’s population. Each of these measures, from the minimum wage to average income, has important uses and an invested target audience. While no measure is a perfect indicator, each helps to illustrate the financial situation of Oregon’s individuals and families.