Oregon Paycheck Calculator: Estimate Your Take-Home Pay After Taxes

Oregon Paycheck Calculator: What You Earn vs. What You Keep — And Why

There are approximately 2.2 million workers in Oregon’s civilian labor force, with employment concentrated in healthcare, retail trade, manufacturing, and technology. That workforce spans everything from Intel’s campus in the Portland suburbs to vineyards and nurseries in the Willamette Valley.

To match its multifaceted workforce, Oregon also has one of the more layered payroll structures in the country, with a progressive state income tax, a paid leave deduction, and a statewide transit contribution that show up on most pay stubs.

Whether you pull shifts at a hospital in Portland, clock in at a semiconductor fab in Washington County, or work a desk job in Salem, your Oregon paycheck goes through the same withholding process before any money hits your account. To help maximize your paycheck, you should understand how your Oregon take-home pay is calculated and what factors can shift it. Here’s a clearer picture.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and is not tax advice. Tax rules can change, and individual situations vary. For personal tax questions, consider speaking with a qualified tax professional.

How your Oregon paycheck is calculated: A breakdown

Oregon uses a four-bracket progressive income tax for tax year 2025, with rates ranging from 4.75% to 9.9%. Each bracket applies only to the portion of income within that range, not to your entire paycheck.

On top of state income tax, Oregon workers also contribute to federal programs, a statewide paid leave fund, and a transit tax. Each piece follows a clear sequence, and understanding them individually makes the full picture easier to read.

Part 1: Your gross pay before deductions

Gross pay is your total earnings before any deductions come out. If you are paid hourly, that means your regular hours plus any overtime. If you are salaried, it is your fixed pay for the period. Your taxable income is calculated from gross pay after certain deductions are subtracted.

Oregon’s minimum wage runs on a three-tier system effective July 1, 2025:

• Portland metro area (within the urban growth boundary): $16.30 per hour
• Standard counties: $15.05 per hour
• Non-urban counties: $14.05 per hour

Part 2: Federal withholding and Oregon’s Form OR-W-4

Your federal W-4 tells your employer how much federal income tax to withhold from each paycheck. Unlike older versions, the current W-4 uses dollar amounts rather than allowances, and what your employer withholds depends on your filing status, income level, whether you claim dependents, and whether you request any additional withholding. Because federal withholding is calculated using progressive brackets published by the IRS, it typically lands as the largest single deduction on a paycheck.

In Oregon, you actually complete two separate forms: the federal W-4 for federal withholding and Form OR-W-4 for state withholding. Oregon broke away from the federal W-4 format after the 2020 IRS redesign, because the updated federal form simply was not compatible with Oregon’s withholding calculation method.

If you skip the OR-W-4, your employer automatically defaults to the single filer rate with zero allowances: the highest possible withholding setting. Taking the time to file the form accurately may mean less withheld each period.

Part 3: Social Security and Medicare (FICA) deductions

In Oregon, where state income tax, Paid Leave Oregon, and the Statewide Transit Tax all apply, FICA is one of several deductions that stack up before take-home pay is calculated.

Social Security and Medicare taxes, together called FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act), are typically withheld at the following rates:

• Social Security: 6.2% on wages up to the annual wage base
• Medicare: 1.45% on all wages

Employers generally match both amounts.

There is also an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% that ultimately applies on earnings above the following thresholds when you file:

• $200,000 (single)
• $250,000 (married filing jointly)
• $125,000 (married filing separately)

Part 4: Oregon state income tax and the impacts

Oregon’s income tax is progressive, meaning the rate increases as income rises, but only the income within each bracket is taxed at that bracket’s rate. Oregon uses four brackets for the 2025 tax year, with rates ranging from 4.75% to 9.9%.

The highest rate that applies to any given dollar is called the marginal rate, and it is typically higher than the effective rate, which reflects the average across all income.

For tax year 2025, Oregon also offers a standard deduction of $2,835 for single filers and $5,670 for married filers, along with personal exemption credits of $256 per exemption applied directly against the tax owed. Bracket thresholds differ meaningfully between single and married filing jointly filers, so your filing status has a direct effect on how your income is distributed across brackets. For full year-by-year guidance, the Oregon Department of Revenue maintains official withholding tables.

Part 5: Oregon-specific payroll deductions

Oregon requires two additional withholdings beyond FICA and state income tax.

Paid Leave Oregon is a mandatory program that funds paid family, medical, and safe leave. The total program contribution rate for 2026 is 1% of gross wages, up to a wage base of $184,500 per year. Employees contribute 60% of that total (0.6% of gross wages), while employers with 25 or more employees cover the remaining 40%. Employers with fewer than 25 employees are not required to pay the employer share, though they may choose to. The program provides up to 12 weeks of paid leave per 52-week period (14 weeks for pregnancy-related conditions), with benefits potentially reaching 60% to 100% of a worker’s weekly wage depending on income level.

The Statewide Transit Tax (STT) is withheld at 0.1% of gross wages with no wage ceiling. It applies to Oregon residents regardless of where they work and to nonresidents performing services in Oregon.

Part 6: Local taxes may apply

Effective since January 1, 2021, two local income taxes apply to higher earners in the Portland metro area — but only if you live and/or work in the Metro boundary or in Multnomah County and meet local thresholds.

• Metro Supportive Housing Services (SHS) Tax applies to residents and workers within the Metro boundary, which covers portions of Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties. The rate is 1% on Metro taxable income above approximately $128,000 for single filers and $200,000 for joint filers.
• Multnomah County Preschool for All (PFA) Tax applies to Multnomah County residents and nonresidents with income sourced within the county. The rate is 1.5% on taxable income above $125,000 (single) or $200,000 (joint), with an additional 1.5% (3% total) on income above $250,000 (single) or $400,000 (joint).

Both taxes apply only to higher earners and do not affect most Oregon workers at or near the state median income.

Where does your income fall in Oregon? (Median income overview)

Median household income is a useful benchmark for seeing where most Oregon workers actually land in the tax bracket structure.

A single filer earning Oregon’s median of approximately $85,220 falls within the 8.75% bracket, which covers income between $11,100 and $125,000. The marginal rate at that income level is 8.75%, though the effective Oregon state rate tends to be meaningfully lower — often around 6% to 7% — because the lower brackets apply to the first portions of income.

For a married couple filing jointly near the state median, the bracket thresholds are wider: the 8.75% rate does not begin until income exceeds $22,200, which may result in a somewhat lower effective rate compared to single filers at the same income.

Oregon’s state median of $85,220 sits above the national median of approximately $81,604, meaning most Oregon workers tend to land in a mid-to-upper bracket rather than the entry-level 4.75% range.

4 ways your take-home pay can change

Your gross pay sets the ceiling, but several factors determine how much of it you actually keep. Here are four areas where your choices can make a measurable difference.

Why does take-home pay feel different in Oregon?

Oregon has no statewide sales tax, which means workers often perceive their gross pay differently than in neighboring states. The deduction stack on an Oregon pay stub can still feel significant, though.

A typical Oregon worker in Portland may see federal income tax, FICA (7.65% total employee share), Oregon state income tax (starting at 4.75% and potentially reaching 8.75% on most middle-income wages), Paid Leave Oregon (0.6%), and the Statewide Transit Tax (0.1%) all withheld before a dollar reaches their account. For a worker earning around $85,000, that combined load can represent a meaningful share of each check.

Cost of living also varies considerably across the state:

• Portland metro. Higher nominal wages in healthcare and tech, but among Oregon’s highest housing costs (a downtown one-bedroom averages around $1,729 per month).
• Bend and Central Oregon. Rapid cost growth in recent years, with wages often lagging the pace of rent increases.
• Rural eastern Oregon. Generally lower costs of living, though wage levels in most sectors also tend to be lower.
• Eugene. A mid-range metro with university employment as an anchor, where wages and costs tend to track closer to the state median.

To illustrate the state income tax piece specifically: at a salary of $60,000, an Oregon single filer in Portland may owe an estimated $3,700 to $4,000 in state income tax. A worker earning the same salary in Florida would owe $0 in state income tax, because Florida has no state income tax. That gap reflects a real difference in take-home pay, though cost-of-living differences between metros mean purchasing power comparisons involve more than the tax figure alone.

Note: Estimated taxes are illustrative only, assuming the tax year, filing status, and standard deductions/credits. All figures are estimates and may vary based on individual circumstances and time of filing.