As graduating University of Oregon students find themselves exiting college and entering the job market, they may find themselves trying to figure out where they should settle in Oregon — if they intend to stay in the beaver state.
Benjamin Hansen is an economics professor at the University of Oregon. He said that for students who want to stay in Eugene, education and healthcare tend to be more reliable employment sectors.
“If we had to pick a modal job, like staying in Eugene, it probably would have been working in the K-12 sector. But I think there is a growing tech sector,” Hansen said. “The healthcare industry is a very large employer as well. Certainly working for PeaceHealth, working for some of the larger providers, Slocum, things like that.”
PeaceHealth is a not-for-profit healthcare organization, and Slocum Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine is a medical provider in Eugene.
According to the most recent data from the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, as of 2021, PeaceHealth employed 5,347 people in Lane County — or 3.54% of the county’s population. It was the largest employer. Eugene area education institutes like the UO and Eugene 4J School District were the second and third largest employers in the county, employing 5,036 and 2,347 people, respectively.
The unemployment rate in Eugene-Springfield rested at 3.9% as of April 2025 according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a lower unemployment rate than Salem and Portland’s 4% rate, and significantly below the statewide rate of 4.7%. However, Oregon’s unemployment rate is slightly above the national rate of 4.2%.
For students deciding where to rent in Oregon, there are certainly worse places to live than Oregon. The median in Oregon is $1,541 per month — approximately 5% below the national median of $1,625. The median rent in Eugene, however, outpaces the median in Oregon at $1,774 per month — a price that is comparable with Portland’s median rent of $1,802 per month.
As of April 2025, the median house price was $516,000, up 5.4% from the same time last year — comparable with Portland’s median home price of $521,000. Salem’s median home price is considerably less at $450,000. The median home price statewide is $516,000 and nationally is $438,000.
Hansen said that for those prices to ever come down, things are going to have to change.
“If we actually want to see prices fall, and we want to see affordability increase, we have to build at a far more rapid pace than we’ve been building,” Hansen said.
According to Multifamily Northwest’s spring housing report, the vacancy rate in Eugene is 3.56%. This means that only 3.56% of rental units in Eugene are available to rent and vacant. In the Portland metro area, the vacancy rate lies at 5.91%.
Vacancy rates are an indicator of overall rental market health, and a healthy vacancy rate typically should be between 5–8%. If a vacancy rate sinks too low, then housing will become increasingly difficult to find. This indicated that Eugene has an unhealthy rental market, creating conditions in which affordable housing is scarce — potentially contributing to homelessness.
According to the City of Eugene, approximately 3,000 people, or 1.7% of residents, are unhoused as of 2025. Statewide, 22,875 people, or 0.5% of the population, were experiencing homelessness as of 2024 — putting the homeless population in Eugene at over three times the statewide average.
Hansen said that as students leave college and begin to make more money, they need to be careful not to spend too much.
“The last important thing I would share with students is when you transition from being a student to being an adult, at first you’re gonna feel rich. You’ll discover it doesn’t go as far as you think,” Hansen said. “There’s taxes that you might not have known about before…. Get a solid financial footing, make sure you keep track of your credit (and) don’t overbuy on a car.”
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