Facts & Stats

Some Facts of Life in Washington County

• In Washington County. 50,000 people live in poverty. 70% of these are working, but still living at poverty level based on federal standards. These numbers have been increasing since the 1980s.
• In our county, 100,000 people are living above the federal poverty level, but are still living on the edge; they are our ‘working poor’.
• According to Mayor Hughes of Hillsboro, in Washington County,
  1 of 15 people are unemployed
  1 in 10 people live below the federal poverty index
  1 in 7 people has no health insurance
  1 in 6 people needs emergency food assistance
• A recent study by Washington County states that 1 in 5 households in the county lacked affordable housing and that nearly 7,000 households were paying more than half of their income for housing (most of us pay about 25%).
• The average cost for a 2 bedroom market-rate apartment in Washington County is $31,000 per year, or 2 times the federal poverty level for a family of 3.
• According to Ron Johnson, Oregon Food Bank Board Chair, 1 in 6 Oregonians eat from emergency food boxes each year; 35% of those are working and 40% are children.
• The National Agricultural Workers Study (NAWS) found in a study conducted from 2001-2004 that 29% of hired crop workers interviewed had family incomes that were below the federal poverty level.

More Facts of Life

• The number of farmworkers in Washington County swells to 18,000 in the season. A great number of them live in unsanitary, unsafe, and overcrowded conditions, whether in labor camps or in private units.
• Housing costs in Washington County are among the highest in Oregon. Housing is considered unaffordable if it costs more than 1/3 of the household’s monthly income. A family needs an annual income of $27,720 to afford an average 2 bedroom rental unit in Washington County with an average cost of $700 per month.
• The average wage for a farmworker in Washington County according to OED is $21,404; however, this does not include workers not covered by UI, hired for a set fee, custom, or contract work. It is estimated that the median annual income for these workers is between $10,000 and $14,000 for families.
• The housing cost burden puts the working poor at risk for financial crisis. One ordinary, unexpected expense can be catastrophic.
• The most recent HDC affordable housing survey projected an affordable housing unit shortage of 2,875.

Homelessness Information

• Washington County POINT-IN-TIME HOMELESS COUNT