Consumer Justice: Consumer Experiences

From June 18th to July 30th, 2026, the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center (OVBC) – in partnership with Oregon Consumer Justice (OCJ) – conducted a survey of Oregon. This third annual survey is designed to better understand the issues impacting consumers across Oregon, including topics such as rising costs, scams, and debt collection.  

The statewide survey consisted of 1,828 Oregon residents aged 18 and older.

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The question numbers in this document correspond with the accompanying Questionnaire Totals and Crosstabs data files. For survey full question wording, all statistically significant subgroup findings, and respondent quotes, readers are encouraged to refer to the accompanying documents located at the bottom of this post under “For More Information”: (1) questionnaire totals, (2) crosstabulations, and (3) verbatim written responses spreadsheet (upon request).

Due to rounding, the percentages reported below may not add up to 100% or compare exactly to the percentages for the same question in the Questionnaire Totals or Crosstabs. Included below are noteworthy subgroup variations for age, gender, area of the state, BIPOC/white, etc, for selected questions. The accompanying set of tabs notes subgroup variations for each question.

NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, each statement summarizing noticeable differences captures a comparison within an identification category. For example, if respondents aged 75 and older show higher support for a particular statement, this refers to a comparison with other age groups.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Nearly half of Oregonians report having experienced unfair or illegal treatment in the past year, with scams or fraud being the most common.
• Among those who experienced fraud in the last year, around half say the fraud occurred through text messaging, a phone call, or email.
• Most Oregonians have experienced attempted fraud, and about half recognized the scam before losing money or information.
• Food costs top the list of money stressors, followed by housing and utilities.
• Most Oregonians would have difficulty covering a $400 emergency expense. Of those who say it would be difficult, the top two ways Oregonians would pay are to borrow money from a family member and/or sell something.

Below is the 2026 Consumer Justice: Consumer Experiences survey report. Click on the download button to view the report, and look below for more specific data files and crosstabs:

ADDITIONAL FILES

METHODOLOGY

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This statewide survey was conducted from June 18th – July 30th , 2026. The survey included 1,828 Oregon residents aged 18+ and took approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. This is a sufficient sample size to assess Oregonians’ opinions generally and to review findings by multiple subgroups.

Respondents were contacted using professionally maintained online panels. Various quality-control measures were employed to ensure response quality, including questionnaire pre-testing, validation, and real-time monitoring. To ensure a representative sample, demographic quotas were set, and the raw data was weighted by area of the state, gender, age, race/ethnicity, political party registration, and education.

OVBC surveys currently use aggregated data to analyze the opinions of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) residents in comparison to the opinions of residents who identify as White and not another race. BIPOC residents are not a homogeneous population; instead, they represent a wide diversity of races and ethnicities. The findings in this report should not be construed as implying that all people of color are believed to share the same opinions. Disaggregated race data will be provided when sample sizes permit reliability.

Statement of Limitations: Any sampling of opinions or attitudes is subject to a margin of error. The margin of error is a standard statistical calculation that represents differences between the sample and total population at a confidence interval, or probability, calculated to be 95%. This means that there is a 95% probability that the sample taken for this study would fall within the stated margin of error if compared with the results achieved from surveying the entire population. This survey’s margin of error for the full sample is ±2.29% 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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