What Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary earn in Clackamas County, OR
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $45,280: the median annual pay for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Clackamas County, OR. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $21.77 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $44,160, which is 2.5% below the median, which suggests many workers sit near the top of the pay scale. The survey counts about 12,500 people working in this occupation across the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Clackamas County, OR has roughly 423,975 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $31,360 a year ($15.08 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $57,180 or more ($27.49 an hour). That is a gap of $25,820 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $36,940 at the 25th percentile and $49,000 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.8 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $21.77 an hour or $45,280 a year at the median for Clackamas County, OR. Before any deductions, that is $3,773 a month, $1,742 every two weeks and $871 each week. After taxes the same job pays $17.14 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Clackamas County, OR compares
Compared with the Oregon average
A worker in this occupation in Clackamas County, OR earns $3,268 more than the Oregon average of $42,012, a premium of 7.8%. Over a year that premium is worth $3,268 before tax and roughly $2,572 after tax. Within Oregon, Clackamas County, OR already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary is $36,982 across the contiguous United States. At $45,280, Clackamas County, OR pays $8,298 more, which is 22.4% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Clackamas County, OR
Among the 592 occupations with published wages in Clackamas County, OR, Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary ranks number 530 by median pay, ahead of about 10% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $156,000 a year, which is $110,720 more than the median for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary earning the Clackamas County, OR median of $45,280, they add up to $9,638. The result is $35,642 of take-home pay a year ($2,970 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $21 goes to taxes and $79 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 21.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $29,530. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,305, an effective 7.3% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,807 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $657. FICA totals $3,464, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Oregon
Oregon income tax on this salary is $2,869 a year, or 6.3% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 87% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $239 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Clackamas County, OR
IRS Statistics of Income data for Clackamas County, OR show an average adjusted gross income of $111,729 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 14.8% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.7%, compared with the 7.3% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Clackamas County, OR
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Clackamas County, OR: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $35,642 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Clackamas County, OR, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,633 a month ($19,596 a year), and at $1,878 for two bedrooms. For Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary, a one-bedroom absorbs 55.0% of take-home pay and 43.3% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 7.6% of gross pay for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Clackamas County, OR. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Oregon residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,553 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $595, for $2,148 in total. Gasoline in Oregon averages $4.06 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,879.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $27,059 a year in Clackamas County, OR. Subtract that from $35,642 of take-home pay and $8,584 remains, which is $715 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 19.0% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Can Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary afford to live in Clackamas County, OR?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $45,280 that ceiling is $1,132 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,633 is $501 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $31.40 an hour; the median for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary is $21.77, which is 31% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $17.14 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 22.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,878 a month means $939 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,328 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $16,912.
How fast you can save
At $715 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 14 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 28 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary pay in Clackamas County, OR
How much do Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary make per hour in Clackamas County, OR?
The median is $21.77 per hour, based on $45,280 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $15.08 at the 10th percentile to $27.49 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary take home after taxes in Clackamas County, OR?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $45,280 becomes $35,642 a year. That is $2,970 a month, $1,371 every two weeks or $685 a week.
How much tax do Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary pay in Clackamas County, OR?
Total taxes are $9,638 a year, an effective rate of 21.3%: $3,305 federal income tax, $3,464 FICA and $2,869 Oregon income tax.
Do Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary earn more in Clackamas County, OR than elsewhere in Oregon?
Yes. The local median of $45,280 is +7.8% versus the Oregon average of $42,012, a difference of $3,268 a year.
Can Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary afford a one-bedroom apartment in Clackamas County, OR?
A one-bedroom costs $1,633 a month against take-home pay of $2,970, which is 55.0% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,132 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Clackamas County, OR?
About $715 a month ($8,584 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $27,059 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Clackamas County, OR at the 30% guideline?
$31.40 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $19,596 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary is $21.77.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Oregon rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.