When Dakota Becker was figuring out where to live in his hometown of Hillsboro, he quickly realized renting would put his long-term goal of buying a house farther out of reach, highlighting the larger issue of housing affordability in Oregon and across the country.

“If I were to go out and rent, when would I ever be able to save up for a house?” Becker said.

The 25-year-old lives with his parents in a house they own.

“But I’m thankful that I’m in a position where, hopefully within the next year, I’ll be able to buy a place.”

Becker considers housing the most important issue facing Oregon — a view he shares with many voters across the state.

Ahead of this autumn’s election, OPB partnered with Portland-based polling firm DHM Research to survey 600 Oregonians between the ages of 18 and 40, using phone interviews and online questionnaires. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. When asked an open-ended question about the most important issue facing the state, nearly 55% of respondents said homelessness or housing affordability in Oregon.

“What really matters to them is their economic concerns,” said John Horvick, senior vice president at DHM Research.

He said older Oregonians may have the impression that voters under 40 only care about the environment, abortion, or racial justice.

“It’s not like those get super low numbers, but they’re quite a bit lower than those top line economic numbers,” Horvick said. “This election’s going to be much more about the economy than it’s going to be about abortion.”

Positive Economic Indicators Aren’t Necessarily Improving Housing Affordability in Oregon

Economic issues often rank of high importance among U.S. voters, young and old. Heading into this year’s presidential election, many national economic indicators paint a rosy picture. The unemployment rate is low, hovering around 4% nationally and in Oregon. Inflation has cooled to match the federal target of around 2%. Overall, analysts at consulting firm Deloitte show the U.S. economy has grown by 2.7% this year.

But there’s a real disconnect between those indicators and the economic reality of most households, according to Regina Lawrence, associate dean at the University of Oregon’s journalism school.

Read the full article about housing affordability in Oregon by Kyra Buckley and Tiffany Camhi at Oregon Public Broadcasting.