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Ever Wanted to Know How Much People Make in This Town?

We snooped around, from minimum wage earners to megamillionaires.

By Olivia Wolf December 31, 2019 Published in the January 2020 issue of Portland Monthly

Everyone wants to know everyone else’s business, especially when it comes to salaries, but flat-out asking someone how much they make is pretty gauche. That’s why we did the asking for you. Takeaways? Thousands are still surviving on less than a living wage; we value college football more than Kate Brown; and despite all of Portland’s progressive posturing, it still ranks in the bottom quarter for gender wage gaps amongst major US cities. 

$11.25 

Minimum wage in Oregon, though in the Portland metro area it’s $12.50—think Tin House interns, Grand Central Bakery baristas, and cannabis company budtenders. (But living wage? That’s $14.59 for a person in the metro area with no dependents.)

$98,600

Salary for Kate Brown, the fourth-lowest-paid US governor (after Maine, Colorado & Arizona)

$2,320,000

2019 base salary for the Portland Timbers’ Diego Valeri. (Major League Soccer’s minimum salary was $56,000—more than triple the 2019 minimum in the National Women’s Soccer League.)

$75,280

Annual mean wage in Oregon for middle school teachers—the real heroes of our time

$2.6 million

Salary for Oregon’s highest-paid public servant, Ducks football coach Mario Cristobal. Note: He’s also eligible for a whopping bonus of more than $2 million.

$17.76

The patriotic minimum rate per hour student DJs at Portland State get paid for spinning at a live, school-sponsored event

$929,581

Yearly income of former OHSU president Joseph Robertson, who retired with full PERS benefits (We guess they call it the golden years for a reason.)

$38.3 billion

Estimated net worth of native Oregonian Phil Knight, making him the state’s wealthiest resident for the umpteenth year in a row

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