Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 38/100
D−
Median home value$462,400
Portland $559,400
Median rent$1,702/mo
Portland $1,724/mo
Cost-burdened households38%
Portland 35%
Vancouver
Clark County195,300 residents2 school districts
57
C−
Suburbgrade score
34th of 43 Portland suburbs. Strong on amenities and cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
57
Portland median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Vancouver yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 57 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 Vancouver is like to live in, by category
Bars show Vancouver against Portland. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 44/100
D
Within-state proficiency31st pct
Portland median 66th pct
Student–teacher ratio18.9
Portland median 18.5
Graduation rate88%
Portland median 86%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 74/100
B
Housing cost index92
Portland 100
Eff. tax rate0.77%
Portland 0.87%
Local sales tax8.90%
Portland median 0.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 73/100
B
Mean commute23.2 min
Portland 25.0 min
Under 30 minutes72%
Portland 65%
Transit stops / sq mi10
Portland median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 81/100
B+
Restaurants & cafés121
Portland median 65 · within 2 miles
Groceries8
Portland median 5 · within 2 miles
Parks124
Portland median 68 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 45/100
D
Median household income$81,338
Portland $97,436
Unemployment5.7%
Portland 5.1%
Professional occupations39%
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 Vancouver 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 Vancouver on housing & affordability
Vancouver's weakest grade is D−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Felida8 mi from VancouverB 61 C Damascus16 mi from VancouverB− 51 D+ Cedar Mill12 mi from VancouverB− 71 B− West Linn19 mi from VancouverC+ 71 B− Lake Oswego16 mi from VancouverC+ 76 B Camas8 mi from VancouverC+ 68 B− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Vancouver
Is Vancouver, WA a good place to live?
Vancouver scores 57 out of 100, 34th 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 Vancouver expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $462,400, 17% below the Portland median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.77%. $1,702/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Vancouver?
Schools grade D. The districts serving Vancouver sit at the 31st pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 88% graduation rate and a 18.9 student–teacher ratio. Vancouver is served by Vancouver School District and Evergreen School District (Clark). Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Vancouver?
The mean commute is 23.2 min, with 72% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 18% working from home. Transit density is 10 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Vancouver?
Within two miles there are 8 groceries, 121 restaurants and cafés and 124 parks, which grades B+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Vancouver old or new?
The median home in Vancouver was built in 1988 — close to 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. 58% 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.