Ranking Oregon’s Metro Area Unemployment Rates in December
February 23, 2026A Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is an area surrounding at least one city with 50,000 or more inhabitants. The largest cities in an MSA are designated as the “principal cities” and give the MSA its name.
Oregon has eight MSAs. The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro MSA is Oregon’s only metro area with a population over one million, making it one of the nation’s 60 or so major metro areas. Oregon’s other MSAs are Salem, Corvallis, Albany, Eugene-Springfield, Bend, Medford, and Grants Pass.
Oregon MSAs Unemployment Rates Above National Median
In December 2025, unemployment rates varied widely among the nation’s 389 MSAs. Decatur, AL and Huntsville, AL had the lowest rates at 1.9%. El Centro, CA had the highest at 18.6%.
Unemployment rates in Oregon’s MSAs were generally higher than other metro areas. Corvallis had Oregon’s lowest rate at 4.4%, which was 0.6% above the median unemployment rate for all U.S. metros of 3.8%. Oregon’s metros with more elevated rates included Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro (4.9%), Salem (4.9%), Bend (5.0%), Eugene-Springfield (5.0%), Albany (5.3%) and Medford (5.5%). Grants Pass had the highest unemployment rate of Oregon’s MSAs at 6.8%. Only around 4.1% of other metro areas had higher rates in December.