Mansions for Sale in Oregon

Mansions for Sale in Oregon

Average Mansion and Luxury Home Prices in Oregon

Arch Cape

Clatsop

OR

868,500

General
Oregon is located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Salem is the state's capital and third-most-populous city; Portland is the most populous. Portland is the 30th-largest U.S. city, with a population of 575,930 (2008 estimate) and a metro population of 2,175,133 (2007 estimate), the 23rd-largest U.S. metro area.

Economy
Land in the Willamette Valley owes its fertility to the Missoula Floods, which deposited lake sediment from Glacial Lake Missoula in western Montana onto the valley floor. This soil is the source of a wealth of agricultural products, including potatoes, peppermint, hops, apples and other fruits.

Oregon is also one of four major world hazelnut growing regions, and produces 95% of the domestic hazelnuts in the United States. While the history of the wine production in Oregon can be traced to before Prohibition, it became a significant industry beginning in the 1970s. In 2005, Oregon ranked third among U.S. states with 303 wineries. Due to regional similarities in climate and soil, the grapes planted in Oregon are often the same varieties found in the French regions of Alsace and Burgundy. In the northeastern region of the state, particularly around Pendleton, both irrigated and dry land wheat is grown. Oregon farmers and ranchers also produce cattle, sheep, dairy products, eggs and poultry.

Vast forests have historically made Oregon one of the nation's major timber production and logging states, but forest fires (such as the Tillamook Burn), over-harvesting, and lawsuits over the proper management of the extensive federal forest holdings have reduced the amount of timber produced. According to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, between 1989 and 2001 the amount of timber harvested from federal lands dropped some 96%, from 4,333 million to 173 million board feet (10,000,000 to 408,000 m?), although harvest levels on private land have remained relatively constant. Even the shift in recent years towards finished goods such as paper and building materials has not slowed the decline of the timber industry in the state. The effects of this decline have included Weyerhaeuser's acquisition of Portland-based Willamette Industries in January 2002, the relocation of Louisiana-Pacific's corporate headquarters from Portland to Nashville, and the decline of former lumber company towns such as Gilchrist. Despite these changes, Oregon still leads the United States in softwood lumber production; in 2001, 6,056 million board feet (14,000,000 m?) was produced in Oregon, compared to 4,257 million board feet (10,050,000 m?) in Washington, 2,731 million board feet (6,444,000 m?) in California, 2,413 million board feet (5,694,000 m?) in Georgia, and 2,327 million board feet (5,491,000 m?) in Mississippi. The effect of the forest industry crunch is still extensive unemployment in rural Oregon and is a bone of contention between rural and urban Oregon.

Taxes
Oregon's biennial state budget, $42.4 billion as of 2007, comprises General Funds, Federal Funds, Lottery Funds, and Other Funds. Personal income taxes account for 88% of the General Fund's projected funds. The Lottery Fund, which has grown steadily since the lottery was approved in 1984, exceeded expectations in the 2007 fiscal years, at $604 million.

Oregon is one of only five states that have no sales tax. Oregon voters have been resolute in their opposition to a sales tax, voting proposals down each of the nine times they have been presented. The last vote, for 1993's Measure 1, was defeated by a 72?24% margin.

The state also has a minimum corporate tax of only $10 per year, amounting to 5.6% of the General Fund in the 2005?2007 biennium; data about what businesses pay the minimum is not available to the public. As a result, the state relies almost entirely on property and income taxes for its revenue. Oregon has the fifth highest personal income tax per person in the nation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Oregon ranked 41st out of the 50 states in taxes per person in 2005. The average paid of $1,791.45 is higher than only nine other states.

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