{"id":41967,"date":"2026-07-11T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/?p=41967"},"modified":"2026-07-09T16:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T20:09:32","slug":"how-a-tiny-coastal-town-created-a-1m-housing-market-with-just-1600-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/how-a-tiny-coastal-town-created-a-1m-housing-market-with-just-1600-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Tiny Coastal Town Created a $1M Housing Market With Just 1,600 Residents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cannon Beach, Oregon<\/a>, has a population of fewer than 1,600 people, but the Cannon Beach real estate market looks more like an exclusive resort than a small coastal town. Home values continue to rank among the highest on the Oregon Coast because demand stays strong while new development remains tightly restricted. Those conditions have created one of the state’s most competitive housing markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Numbers Behind the Headline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One reason Cannon Beach remains so expensive is that it has barely grown. The town’s population has stayed in a narrow range for the past 20 years, with current estimates placing it between 1,361<\/a> and 1,512 residents. With so few people and limited room to expand, even small changes in buyer demand can have an outsized impact on home prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Median household income sits at $69,375<\/a>, with per capita income at $68,287, both under the state average of $85,200<\/a>. Yet buying a home requires far more purchasing power than those numbers suggest. U.S. Census Bureau estimates value the typical home at about $822,800<\/a>, but that figure trails the market. Recent sales have ranged from $1 million to $1.2 million, while even entry-level three-bedroom homes often start near $925,000. An estimated median value of about $894,000<\/a> reflects the middle ground between older U.S. Census Bureau data and today’s higher selling prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter which home value you use, the affordability gap is impossible to ignore. Based on a median household income of $69,375, an $894,000 home produces a price-to-income ratio of about 12.9. Economists generally consider a ratio between 3.0 and 4.0 to be affordable when local wages support local home prices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data USA<\/a> estimates median annual earnings between $30,000 and $53,000, depending on occupation and gender, with women retail workers earning toward the lower end of that range. Compared with an $894,000 home, that creates a price-to-income ratio of roughly 17 to 29. In other words, many local workers would need decades of gross income to afford a home in the town where they work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n