Portland Neighborhoods by the Numbers 2018: The City

From Alameda to Woodstock, we've got the numbers you need to navigate Portland's real estate market.

Welcome to our annual reference guide to 125 Portland neighborhoods and suburbs. Last year, Portland’s real estate heat map was a ring of fire: fanning the length of the West Hills, blazing east from Parkrose to Pleasant Valley. Now, after two years of double-digit price surges, the fever might be easing. In 2017, Portland median home sale prices climbed just 5 percent to $400K (the past year, prices rose a blazing 12 percent); 19 neighborhoods actually lost value. What hasn’t changed? Our appeal to transplants: nearly 9 percent of us (again) are fresh arrivals to the city. Hello, newcomers. Can we interest you in a Healy Heights manse?

Methodology

Neighborhoods

Boundaries represent records maintained by the city as of January 2018. Boundary conflicts were resolved for statistical purposes only. Due to overlap between certain neighborhoods, boundary definitions may vary occasionally across categories. With the exception of the area unofficially (but universally) known as Dunthorpe, unclaimed sections of Multnomah County were excluded.

Real Estate

2017 data from the Regional Multiple Listing Service with analysis by the Center for Spatial Analysis and Research at Portland State University’s Department of Geography. Figures were rounded for legibility.

People

Data from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, released December 2017. The ACS data are estimates only and accuracy varies by attribute.

Rent Costs

Calculated from all renter-occupied units, estimated median rent is not adjusted for unit size or number of occupants. Figure includes estimated monthly utility costs.

Median Income

The Census defines household as including “all the persons who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence.” Thus this estimate includes living situations ranging from individuals to large households.

Crime

Portland neighborhood crime data reflects 2017 data provided by the Portland Police Bureau. For cities, crime data reflects 2016 and was sourced from the FBI. As of press time, 2016 crime data was not available for the cities of Maywood Park, Troutdale, West Linn, Wood Village, and unincorporated Sauvie Island. Nonviolent crime includes burglary, larceny (theft), and vehicle theft. Violent crime is defined as aggravated assault, arson, homicide, rape, and robbery. Crimes per 1,000 figures are based on reported incidents of both nonviolent and violent crime. Many factors can influence the crimes-per-1,000 figure and can sometimes complicate meaningful neighborhood comparisons (e.g., commercial districts, or neighborhoods with high traffic and low population density).

Parks

Data from Metro (2017 or most recently available) and/or individual cities.

Transit

Portland 2017 data from TriMet. Suburban transit information was sourced from TriMet as well as other services, including CC Rider, C-TRAN, Canby Area Transit, Yamhill County Transit Area, and South Metro Area Regional Transit.

Minutes by Car to Downtown

Google Maps estimate, based on non–rush hour conditions, from a neighborhood/suburb central point to Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Walk Score

2017 data from Walkscore.com. This score reflects, on a scale of 1 to 100, a neighborhood’s pedestrian-friendliness based on distances to amenities such as grocery stores and other routine destinations.

Unavailable Data

Unavailable data is noted with a dash (—).

Special thanks to David Banis, Colin Finnegan, and Andrew Nelson of PSU’s Center for Spatial Analysis and Research. Research assistance from Sarah Hutchins.

Article Courtesy of Portland Monthly

Ramona DeNies