City limitsPlace boundary

Curated city comparison

PortlandSalem

Oregon city alternatives whose entry price, housing stock and recent local demand evidence require different property screens.

Portland, OR city briefSalem, OR city brief

Decision memo

The trade-off before property underwriting

The interpretation uses direct city records only. County and metro averages are not substituted into this comparison.

Salem, OR better fits cash flow and entry affordability: its Zillow value index is $440,407 versus Portland, OR at $540,296, while gross yield is 4.32% versus 3.82%. That spread is only a screening signal because gross yield excludes every major operating and capital cost. Underwriting should next test achievable property rent, taxes, insurance, maintenance, management, vacancy and financing.

Portland better fits investors seeking renter depth and multifamily stock. Renters represent 48.00% of households, and large multifamily accounts for 23.54% of housing, compared with Salem’s 44.09% and 8.67%. However, Portland’s 5.85% vacancy rate exceeds Salem’s 4.91%, so renter pressure depends on whether the priority is a broader tenant base or tighter apparent occupancy. Check submarket vacancy, concessions and competing deliveries.

Local demand favors Salem on recent directional evidence: its population change was 5.68%, while Portland’s was -0.64%, across overlapping ACS vintages and not annualized. Salem also has a younger median age of 36.0 against 38.8. Portland remains the much larger market, but scale does not erase the recent population signal. Property-level review should verify neighborhood household formation, employers, leasing velocity and exit liquidity before advancing either city.

Direct city matrix

The same definition on both sides

“n/a” remains missing. Zillow indexes and ACS survey measures stay visibly separate.

Decision evidence	Portland, OR	Salem, OR
Typical home valueZillow ZHVI · city	$540,296	$440,407
Observed market rentZillow ZORI · city	$1,721	$1,585
Gross yieldZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI · before costs	3.8%	4.3%
Price to household incomeZillow value ÷ ACS income	5.94x	5.83x
Annual rent to incomeZillow rent × 12 ÷ ACS income	22.7%	25.2%
Rent burdenACS renter households paying 30%+	52.5%	54.9%
Renter shareACS occupied housing	48.0%	44.1%
Vacancy rateACS all housing units	5.9%	4.9%
Population changebetween ACS vintages · not annualized	▼ 0.6%	▲ 5.7%
UnemploymentACS civilian labor force	5.8%	5.8%

Entry and income screen

Price, rent and yield do not tell the same story

Bars begin at zero within each measure. Gross yield remains a before-cost screen.

Zillow city ZHVI and ZORI · 2026-06 / 2026-06

Price and rent history

Two city paths, each rebased to 100

Each panel keeps price and rent in its own city; no level is borrowed across geographies.

Five-year path

Price and rent, rebased to 100

ZHVI −0.8%ZORI +14.4%

Each series starts at 100 so their direction can be compared without pretending that a home value and a monthly rent share the same unit.

Five-year path

Price and rent, rebased to 100

ZHVI +15.0%ZORI +21.1%

Each series starts at 100 so their direction can be compared without pretending that a home value and a monthly rent share the same unit.

Fit by objective

There is no universal city winner

Five city questions remain separate so a yield lead cannot erase affordability or demand risk.

Cash-flow screenSalem

Salem, OR better fits cash flow screening, with a 4.32% gross yield versus 3.82% in Portland, OR. Salem’s rent index is lower, but its value index is also lower, producing the stronger before-cost yield. The next check is a property-specific operating statement covering achievable rent, vacancy, management, repairs, taxes, insurance, utilities, financing and capital work; none is captured by gross yield.

Entry affordabilitySalem

Salem, OR better fits entry affordability because its Zillow value index is $440,407, compared with $540,296 for Portland, OR, a published difference of $99,889. Salem also has the slightly lower price-to-income measure at 5.83 versus Portland’s 5.94. Underwriting should next compare actual asking prices, unit condition, immediate rehabilitation needs and financing terms rather than treating either city-level index as a property appraisal.

Renter pressureDepends on the property

Portland, OR has the broader renter base, with a 48.00% renter share versus 44.09% in Salem, OR. Salem, however, has the tighter citywide vacancy measure at 4.91%, compared with Portland’s 5.85%, and its rent-burden share is higher at 54.88%. The fit therefore depends on whether breadth or apparent tightness matters more. Check neighborhood vacancy, concessions, turnover and tenant-income qualification.

Housing stockPortland

Portland, OR better fits a multifamily-stock objective: large multifamily represents 23.54% of housing, versus 8.67% in Salem, OR. Salem is more single-family-oriented at 62.42%, while Portland is at 57.41%, and Salem’s median year built is 1980 versus Portland’s 1966. Screen Portland for denser acquisition options, but inspect building systems, deferred maintenance, seismic exposure and capital plans at the property level.

Local demand riskSalem

Salem, OR better fits recent local-demand evidence: population change was 5.68%, compared with -0.64% for Portland, OR, using overlapping ACS vintages and not an annualized rate. Salem’s median age is also 36.0 versus Portland’s 38.8. Portland offers substantially greater population scale, so demand depth may differ from growth direction. Verify neighborhood migration, employment anchors, lease-up pace and resale liquidity before committing underwriting resources.

Household pressure

Acquisition and renter affordability

Zillow city indexes divided by direct ACS city household measures.

Housing system

Tenure, vacancy and structure

ACS citywide housing characteristics; not rentable inventory or lease-up speed.

Underwriting boundary

What this city comparison cannot decide

City evidence narrows a search; it does not appraise, inspect or finance a property.

01
Zillow city indexes describe market-level rent and value trends, while ACS medians describe surveyed housing and households. They answer different questions; neither establishes the achievable rent, purchase price or current appraisal for a specific Portland, OR or Salem, OR property.
02
The population-change measures compare overlapping ACS vintages and are not annualized. They may smooth recent reversals and cannot identify which neighborhoods, household types or renter segments gained or declined within Portland, OR and Salem, OR.
03
Gross yield excludes vacancy, management, repairs, taxes, insurance, utilities, financing and capital work. Property condition, local operating costs and lease economics could reverse the city-level cash-flow screen, particularly for older Portland, OR stock or rehabilitation-heavy Salem, OR acquisitions.

Figure-level provenance

The direct sources behind both records

Release period and retrieval date remain separate. Open either city brief for its complete geography ledger.

Census ACS 5-year — city population, households and housingACS 2024 5-yearPulled 2026-07-29 Census ACS 5-year — cities and communitiesACS 2024 5-yearPulled 2026-07-30 Zillow ZHVI — city home valueszillow_zhvi_city.csvPulled 2026-07-29 Zillow ZORI — city market rentszillow_zori_city.csvPulled 2026-07-29

Portland, OROpen the complete city brief641,165 residents in the current ACS record Salem, OROpen the complete city brief178,865 residents in the current ACS record Property testStress-test the same assumptionsReplace city averages with an actual deal