Corvallis Ranks in Top 10 Small Metros for Multifamily Housing Construction

April 23, 2025 - A report released earlier this year revealed remarkable progress in Corvallis to increase multifamily housing. The City of Corvallis ranked #9 among small metros nationwide, as detailed in U.S. Cities Building the Most Multi-Family Housing, a report released in January from Construction Coverage, an online research hub for the construction industry.

By analyzing nationwide building permits tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau, the report cataloged efforts to increase multifamily housing in cities around the country, divided into three broad categories: large metros, midsize metros, and small metros. Corvallis was one of just two West Coast cities in the top 10 among small metros (and the only Oregon city represented on the small metro list).

The distinction comes amid a flurry of building activity in Corvallis, mainly focused on affordable developments that will create rental housing aimed at income-eligible households. Within the last two years, Corvallis has created more than 350 units of affordable rental housing. New affordable rentals in the pre-development pipeline are expected to add more than 250 new units on top of that in the coming years.

The recent multi-family construction activity can be traced to a series of high-impact local policy decisions made by the Corvallis City Council over the past decade, starting with its creation of the Housing Development Task Force in 2015. Key changes include mapping additional high density residential zones around the city, developing new financial incentive programs, and other regulatory reforms. Those changes removed barriers to multifamily housing construction and created new tools that the City of Corvallis is using to encourage multifamily development in the community.

“Land use policy changes sometimes take years to show up in the market,” said Community Development Director Paul Bilotta. “We’re gratified to see this sustained effort by the City Council beginning to provide critical housing for the community.”

Multifamily housing, typically in the form of rental complexes serving individuals and families, is a critical part of the housing continuum in Corvallis, Bilotta noted. With its high population of students attending Oregon State University, Corvallis has an outsized market for rental units, which can create stress on other segments of the housing continuum. Maintaining a healthy level of multifamily rental development can help ease pressure on other property types in the community.

For more data on housing and construction activity in Corvallis, go to www.corvallisoregon.gov/cd/page/housing-data.