Jobs, pay and daily life in Cottage Grove, from official statistics with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Cottage Grove is a city in Oregon with 10,698 residents. The median household earns $80,875 a year and the median rent is $1,254 a month, which is 18.6% of the median household income. It is part of the Eugene-Springfield, OR metropolitan area, where BLS counts 157,710 jobs.
How Cottage Grove compares. Among the 60 largest places in Oregon, Cottage Grove is #60 by population, #10 for long commutes (#1 = fewest), #50 for college degrees (#1 = most), #13 for rent (#1 = cheapest). Its county, Lane County, is #11 of 36 counties for average pay ($59,020).
Cottage Grove has 10,698 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 0.3% of the population of Oregon. It covers 4 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 2,757 people per square mile. The median age is 38.9, 4% younger than the state median (38.9 against 40.4).
The median gross rent is $1,254 a month (rent plus utilities), 18% below the state median ($1,254 against $1,525). Over a year that is 18.6% of the median household income. US housing guidance treats housing as affordable when it takes 30% of income or less, so the typical household is under that line. The median home value is $346,600, which is 4.3 times the median household income ($80,875). 59.0% of households own their home, 7% below the state average (59.0% against 63.3%).
The Eugene-Springfield, OR metropolitan area has 157,710 jobs in the BLS wage survey, and the median pay across all occupations is $49,680 a year, about the same as the national median ($49,680 against $50,980). The biggest occupation groups are office and administrative support (18,360 jobs, median $48,490); food preparation and serving related (16,610 jobs, median $35,910); sales and related (13,470 jobs, median $37,630). The area is most specialised in personal care and service (1.7 times) and food preparation and serving related (1.2 times), where the share of workers is well above the national share. The best-paying groups with at least 5,000 jobs are healthcare practitioners and technical ($106,600) and management ($105,840). In 2026M09 the unemployment rate of Lane County was 4.4%. 65.4% of residents aged 16 and over are in the labour force. The city lies in Lane County; its jobs, pay by industry and GDP are on the county page.
Among workers, 73.0% drive alone, 1.2% use public transit, 6.2% walk, 9.7% work from home. 5.0% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 57% below the state average (5.0% against 11.6%).
21.1% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 43% below the state share (21.1% against 36.8%). 4.5% of residents were born outside the United States, 54% below the state share (4.5% against 9.8%). The poverty rate is 10.7%, 10% below the state rate (10.7% against 11.9%).
The warmest month is Aug, averaging 65°F (18.1°C), and the coolest is Dec at 40°F (4.2°C). About 1,375 mm (54 inches) of precipitation falls in a year; Dec is the wettest month (243 mm) and Jul the driest (8 mm). These values come from NASA satellite-based climatology on a grid of about 50 km, so they describe the wider area, not a weather station in the city.
Closest cities in this guide: Springfield (18 miles, similar rent); Eugene (18 miles, rent 12% higher); Roseburg (42 miles, rent 15% lower); Lebanon (51 miles, rent 5% higher). Rent differences are against Cottage Grove; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.
Federal jobs in Oregon (788) →State guide: OregonCountry guideLane CountyOregon rankings
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
There are 788 federal postings open in Oregon (USAJOBS, state level; we do not have a city filter for them). Private-sector jobs are not in this feed.
| Occupation ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Location quotient ⇅ | Median pay (year) ⇅ | Entry (10th pct.) ⇅ | Top (90th pct.) ⇅ | Median vs US ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 6,220 | 1.59 | $33,990 | $30,340 | $39,200 | +9% |
| Retail Salespersons | 4,090 | 1.03 | $35,410 | $30,850 | $46,870 | +0% |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 3,630 | 0.83 | $40,690 | $36,890 | $45,810 | +14% |
| Registered Nurses | 3,590 | 1.05 | $113,720 | $95,280 | $139,500 | +17% |
| Cashiers | 3,560 | 1.14 | $34,110 | $30,780 | $41,170 | +4% |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 3,350 | 1.17 | $37,430 | $32,570 | $48,440 | +0% |
| General and Operations Managers | 3,090 | 0.87 | $94,170 | $48,360 | $211,660 | -11% |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 2,290 | 1.02 | $37,350 | $31,860 | $48,510 | +1% |
| Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary | 2,270 | 1.57 | $40,180 | $31,710 | $47,940 | +9% |
| Office Clerks, General | 2,230 | 0.89 | $48,320 | $35,360 | $64,260 | +7% |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 1,950 | 0.85 | $42,930 | $30,350 | $73,840 | +22% |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 1,810 | 0.87 | $58,480 | $47,230 | $73,520 | -0% |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 1,780 | 1.28 | $49,670 | $35,810 | $68,670 | -2% |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 1,670 | 0.96 | $49,140 | $37,880 | $63,570 | +3% |
| Cooks, Restaurant | 1,660 | 1.16 | $37,960 | $34,480 | $49,420 | +2% |
| Maintenance and Repair Workers, General | 1,600 | 1.03 | $49,230 | $37,600 | $71,140 | -1% |
| Customer Service Representatives | 1,570 | 0.59 | $45,880 | $34,250 | $63,830 | +2% |
| Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 1,560 | 1.60 | $48,380 | $39,360 | $63,970 | +5% |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 1,550 | 0.52 | $38,920 | $32,370 | $50,190 | -3% |
| Nursing Assistants | 1,540 | 1.05 | $48,320 | $40,530 | $61,310 | +14% |
These figures are for the whole Eugene-Springfield, OR metropolitan area, not the city alone.
Median pay across all occupations: $49,680 (US $50,980); unemployment 4.4% (2026M09).
| Industry (residents) ⇅ | Share of employed residents ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Education and health care | 24.9% |
| Retail trade | 16.1% |
| Manufacturing | 11.9% |
| Construction | 10.7% |
| Professional, scientific, management, administrative | 7.8% |
| Arts, entertainment, accommodation, food | 7.4% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate | 6.8% |
| Other services | 4.5% |
| Public administration | 3.6% |
| Transportation, warehousing, utilities | 3.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 1.7% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining | 1.0% |
| Information | 0.5% |
Cities have no official GDP or payroll count of their own. These figures are for the county where Cottage Grove lies and cover the whole county, not only the city.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP (2024) ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs (QCEW 2024) ⇅ | Employer sites ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Job change vs 2023 ⇅ | Unemployment rate ⇅ | Labour force ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lane County | 384,207 | $23,574 million | $61,358 | 157,428 | 13,531 | $59,020 | +0.1% | 4.4% | 188,288 |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 27,975 | 21.3% | $65,035 | 1.24 |
| Retail trade | 19,053 | 14.5% | $39,259 | 1.21 |
| Accommodation and food services | 15,308 | 11.6% | $25,878 | 1.07 |
| Manufacturing | 14,308 | 10.9% | $65,550 | 1.11 |
| Construction | 7,492 | 5.7% | $69,606 | 0.91 |
| Administrative and waste services | 6,871 | 5.2% | $43,962 | 0.74 |
| Professional and technical services | 6,199 | 4.7% | $77,501 | 0.57 |
| Wholesale trade | 5,906 | 4.5% | $72,919 | 0.95 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 5,299 | 4.0% | $42,176 | 1.12 |
| Finance and insurance | 4,491 | 3.4% | $91,823 | 0.70 |
| Management of companies | 3,993 | 3.0% | $84,594 | 1.50 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 3,364 | 2.6% | $55,171 | 0.50 |
| Real estate and rental | 2,542 | 1.9% | $50,281 | 1.04 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 2,256 | 1.7% | $55,876 | 1.77 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 2,007 | 1.5% | $24,380 | 0.76 |
| Educational services | 1,968 | 1.5% | $42,078 | 0.60 |
| Information | 1,877 | 1.4% | $105,802 | 0.64 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 379 | 0.3% | $78,417 | 0.64 |
| Utilities | 133 | 0.1% | $109,325 | 0.22 |
QCEW counts jobs covered by unemployment insurance; sectors with too few employers are withheld by BLS. Latest-month unemployment is preliminary.
| How residents get to work ⇅ | Share ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Drive alone | 73.0% |
| Public transit | 1.2% |
| Walk | 6.2% |
| Work from home | 9.7% |
| Commute of 45 minutes or more | 5.0% |
Shares are of workers aged 16 and over; they describe residents, wherever they work.
| Indicator ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Median household income | $80,875 |
| Income per person | $33,651 |
| Median gross rent per month | $1,254 |
| Yearly rent as share of median household income | 18.6% |
| Median home value | $346,600 |
| Homeowners | 59.0% |
| Poverty rate | 10.7% |
| Price level of the metro area (US = 100) | 101.6 |
| Metro median pay, all occupations | $49,680 |
Estimate for a wage earner: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS), Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 married), and a state rate you set; graduated states show 0 until you enter your own estimate. It ignores credits, pre-tax deductions, local taxes and benefits. Sources: IRS: tax year 2026 inflation adjustments · SSA wage base per Federal Register notice 2025-19763.
State tax: Graduated, top rate 9.90%.
| Indicator ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Median age | 38.9 |
| High school or higher (25+) | 93.4% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 21.1% |
| Born abroad | 4.5% |
| Labour force participation (16+) | 65.4% |
Work permits are federal: see permits and first steps.
| Month ⇅ | Mean temperature (°C) ⇅ | Mean temperature (°F) ⇅ | Precipitation (mm) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4.9 | 41 | 196 |
| Feb | 5.0 | 41 | 142 |
| Mar | 6.6 | 44 | 169 |
| Apr | 8.4 | 47 | 122 |
| May | 11.7 | 53 | 75 |
| Jun | 14.3 | 58 | 48 |
| Jul | 17.4 | 63 | 8 |
| Aug | 18.1 | 65 | 13 |
| Sep | 15.9 | 61 | 50 |
| Oct | 11.2 | 52 | 113 |
| Nov | 6.9 | 44 | 196 |
| Dec | 4.2 | 40 | 243 |
Satellite-reanalysis climatology on a grid of roughly 50 km, so it smooths local effects (hills, coast, city heat). It is not a weather-station record.
| City ⇅ | State ⇅ | Distance (straight line) ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | OR | 18 mi | 61,499 | $68,761 | $1,258 |
| Eugene | OR | 18 mi | 179,591 | $66,562 | $1,402 |
| Roseburg | OR | 42 mi | 23,778 | $53,918 | $1,063 |
| Lebanon | OR | 51 mi | 19,344 | $63,176 | $1,312 |
| Corvallis | OR | 55 mi | 59,960 | $65,012 | $1,391 |
| Albany | OR | 57 mi | 56,839 | $78,114 | $1,372 |
| Coos Bay | OR | 65 mi | 15,925 | $56,524 | $1,034 |
| Monmouth | OR | 73 mi | 11,428 | $69,170 | $1,114 |
| Salem | OR | 78 mi | 178,865 | $75,487 | $1,400 |
| Four Corners | OR | 78 mi | 16,275 | $69,669 | $1,416 |
Straight-line distance in miles, not driving distance.
Pick two cities.
vs
10,698 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimate).
$1,254 a month (ACS 2020–2024), which is 18.6% of the median household income.
$80,875 (ACS 2020–2024, in 2024 dollars).
4.4% (BLS county, Lane County (latest month 2026M09)).
Oregon. See the state guide for minimum wage, taxes and pay.