While big cities like Portland offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Portland. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Portland without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Portland are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Portland area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Portland for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Portland? Sherwood ranks as the best suburb of Portland for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Sherwood, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Portland ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Oregon:
The 10 Best Portland Suburbs To Live For 2024
/10
Population: 20,286
Median Income: $109,770
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 4.3%
More on Sherwood: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Sherwood is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Portland area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Sherwood.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $109,770 a year, which is the 6th highest in the Portland region. And only 2.86% are out of work. Homes average more than $628,898 each.
/10
Population: 40,457
Median Income: $127,252
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 3.9%
More on Lake Oswego: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Lake Oswego is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Portland for 2024.
It ranks 3rd for incomes in the area and only 2.57% of residents lack insurance, good for 3rd best.
/10
Population: 26,387
Median Income: $133,829
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 4.4%
More on Camas: Data | Real Estate
Here in Camas, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Portland metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Camas.
/10
Population: 27,167
Median Income: $134,116
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
Poverty Rate: 5.6%
More on West Linn: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
West Linn ranks as the 4th best suburb of Portland for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in West Linn and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 3,685
Median Income: $112,758
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 3.3%
More on La Center: Data | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is La Center.
La Center gets kudos for having the 9th most expensive homes in the Portland area, where houses sell for an average of $627,222. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Population: 24,381
Median Income: $126,108
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 5.6%
More on Happy Valley: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Happy Valley is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 3.81%.
According to online reports, Happy Valley is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Portland area, meaning you need to get in soon.
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The 7th best suburb on our list goes to North Plains.
North Plains schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 17.2 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 55,161
Median Income: $101,354
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 7.8%
More on Tigard: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Tigard is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 5.08% of people lack insurance, good for 16th in the area.
My hometown I grew up in has changed some. But still a small town feel. Most of the time.
The high school football games. Great way for families and community to come together on a Friday night.
/10
Population: 11,240
Median Income: $95,453
Unemployment Rate: 1.5%
Poverty Rate: 5.9%
More on Oregon: Data | Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In Oregon?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
10. Banks, OR
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Population: 2,047
Median Income: $82,708
Unemployment Rate: 7.9%
Poverty Rate: 6.2%
More on Banks: Crime | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Banks.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Portland for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Portland was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Portland.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 37 suburbs to evaluate around Portland.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 37 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Portland.” We’re lookin’ at you, Sherwood.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Portland suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Portland ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Portland are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Portland but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Oregon reading, check out:
Table: Best Portland Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sherwood, OR | 20,286 | $109,770 | $628,898 |
| 2 | Lake Oswego, OR | 40,457 | $127,252 | $880,600 |
| 3 | Camas, OR | 26,387 | $133,829 | $713,685 |
| 4 | West Linn, OR | 27,167 | $134,116 | $759,031 |
| 5 | La Center, OR | 3,685 | $112,758 | $627,222 |
| 6 | Happy Valley, OR | 24,381 | $126,108 | $682,410 |
| 7 | North Plains, OR | 3,365 | $109,559 | $581,941 |
| 8 | Tigard, OR | 55,161 | $101,354 | $601,645 |
| 9 | Oregon, OR | 11,240 | $95,453 | $422,070 |
| 10 | Banks, OR | 2,047 | $82,708 | $604,265 |
| 11 | Ridgefield, OR | 11,486 | $107,308 | $645,057 |
| 12 | Beaverton, OR | 97,554 | $88,899 | $534,974 |
| 13 | Sandy, OR | 12,592 | $98,341 | $500,027 |
| 14 | Battle Ground, OR | 20,888 | $94,360 | $574,680 |
| 15 | Dundee, OR | 3,224 | $98,152 | $571,189 |
| 16 | Hillsboro, OR | 106,612 | $98,891 | $527,280 |
| 17 | Tualatin, OR | 27,804 | $105,542 | $637,027 |
| 18 | Milwaukie, OR | 21,195 | $78,676 | $502,721 |
| 19 | Canby, OR | 18,127 | $91,823 | $566,045 |
| 20 | Newberg, OR | 25,379 | $87,873 | $519,518 |
| 21 | Wilsonville, OR | 25,992 | $83,210 | $637,996 |
| 22 | Scappoose, OR | 8,003 | $96,339 | $474,121 |
| 23 | Washougal, OR | 16,828 | $97,295 | $584,262 |
| 24 | Hubbard, OR | 3,427 | $89,016 | $484,033 |
| 25 | Troutdale, OR | 16,150 | $86,307 | $469,436 |
| 26 | Forest Grove, OR | 26,160 | $77,977 | $512,087 |
| 27 | Gladstone, OR | 11,996 | $88,043 | $504,640 |
| 28 | Molalla, OR | 10,147 | $77,442 | $478,905 |
| 29 | Cornelius, OR | 13,245 | $83,051 | $471,048 |
| 30 | Columbia, OR | 10,203 | $50,309 | $250,459 |
| 31 | St. Helens, OR | 14,015 | $77,475 | $407,724 |
| 32 | Vancouver, OR | 190,700 | $73,626 | $487,468 |
| 33 | Fairview, OR | 10,515 | $78,407 | $456,132 |
| 34 | Woodland, OR | 6,463 | $78,870 | $547,514 |
| 35 | Gresham, OR | 113,525 | $69,437 | $451,470 |
| 36 | Estacada, OR | 4,619 | $78,594 | $531,656 |
| 37 | Woodburn, OR | 26,222 | $58,916 | $403,723 |