Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 43/100
D
Median home value$581,500
Portland $559,400
Median rent$1,655/mo
Portland $1,724/mo
Cost-burdened households39%
Portland 35%
Portland
Multnomah County641,165 residents2 school districts
67
C+
Suburbgrade score
12th of 43 Portland suburbs. Strong on amenities and commute & transport, held back by housing & affordability.
67
Portland median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Portland yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 67 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Portland is like to live in, by category
Bars show Portland against Portland. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 63/100
C+
Within-state proficiency76th pct
Portland median 66th pct
Student–teacher ratio17.3
Portland median 18.5
Graduation rate80%
Portland median 86%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 72/100
B−
Housing cost index101
Portland 100
Eff. tax rate1.04%
Portland 0.87%
Local sales tax0.00%
Portland median 0.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 80/100
B+
Mean commute24.1 min
Portland 25.0 min
Under 30 minutes68%
Portland 65%
Transit stops / sq mi46
Portland median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 100/100
A+
Restaurants & cafés942
Portland median 65 · within 2 miles
Groceries25
Portland median 5 · within 2 miles
Parks98
Portland median 68 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 54/100
C−
Median household income$90,919
Portland $97,436
Unemployment5.8%
Portland 5.1%
Professional occupations55%
Portland 47%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Portland yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Portland on housing & affordability
Portland's weakest grade is D. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Felida13 mi from PortlandB 61 C Damascus13 mi from PortlandB− 51 D+ Cedar Mill7 mi from PortlandB− 71 B− West Linn12 mi from PortlandC+ 71 B− Lake Oswego9 mi from PortlandC+ 76 B Camas12 mi from PortlandC+ 68 B− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Portland
Is Portland, OR a good place to live?
Portland scores 67 out of 100, 12th of 43 Portland suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Portland expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $581,500, 4% above the Portland median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.04%. $1,655/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Portland?
Schools grade C+. The districts serving Portland sit at the 76th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 80% graduation rate and a 17.3 student–teacher ratio. Portland is served by Portland SD 1j and Parkrose School District 3. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Portland?
The mean commute is 24.1 min, with 68% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 29% working from home. Transit density is 46 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Portland?
Within two miles there are 25 groceries, 942 restaurants and cafés and 98 parks, which grades A+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Portland old or new?
The median home in Portland was built in 1966 — older than the Portland median of 1984. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 57% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.