The 10 Best Portland Suburbs To Live In For 2022


We analyzed over 37 places around Portland to identify the most in demand places to live.

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Editor’s Note: Data has been updated for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the best Portland suburbs.

Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.

There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.

But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.

Of course, not all suburbs of Portland are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...

Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Portland for 2022:

  1. Sherwood
  2. Lake Oswego
  3. Happy Valley
  4. West Linn
  5. Camas
  6. North Plains
  7. La Center
  8. Tigard
  9. Oregon
  10. Ridgefield

What's the best suburb of Portland? Sherwood ranks as the best suburb of Portland for 2022 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.

Note: 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 larger selection of suburbs.

Feel free to check out some more reading about Oregon:

The 10 Best Portland Suburbs To Live For 2022

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 $107,537 a year, which is the 5th highest in the Portland region. And only 2.78% are out of work. Homes average more than $426,400 each.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 19,745
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $107,537
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 3.5%
More on Sherwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Sherwood, OR

Source: Public domain

Lake Oswego is the second best 'burb we looked at near Portland for 2022.

It ranks 4th for incomes in the area and only 2.9% of residents lack insurance, good for 4th best.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 39,476
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $114,444
Unemployment Rate: 4.3%
Poverty Rate: 3.2%
More on Lake Oswego: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Lake Oswego, OR

Here in Happy Valley, 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 Happy Valley.

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 22,049
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $124,381
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%
Poverty Rate: 3.4%
More on Happy Valley: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Happy Valley, OR

West Linn ranks as the 4th best suburb of Portland for 2022.

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.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 26,764
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $119,415
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 5.6%
More on West Linn: Real Estate | Data | Photos

West Linn, OR

Coming in as the fifth best is Camas.

Camas gets kudos for having the 4th most expensive homes in the Portland area, where houses sell for an average of $458,000. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 24,043
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $115,993
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 3.5%
More on Camas: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Camas, WA

Source: Public domain

North Plains 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 3.06% which is 10th best in the area.

According to online reports, North Plains is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Portland area, meaning you need to get in soon.

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 2,706
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Income: $95,875
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on North Plains: Real Estate | Data | Photos

North Plains, OR

The 7th best suburb on our list goes to La Center.

La Center 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 22.7 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 3,338
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 2)
Median Income: $98,633
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%
Poverty Rate: 6.5%
More on La Center: Real Estate | Data | Photos

La Center, WA

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 5.43% of people lack insurance, good for 18th in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 54,149
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 5)
Median Income: $86,757
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 7.8%
More on Tigard: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Tigard, OR

Source: Public domain
9. Oregon

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.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 10,513
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Median Income: $86,039
Unemployment Rate: 1.9%
Poverty Rate: 6.7%
More on Oregon: Real Estate

And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Ridgefield.

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.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 8,751
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 6)
Median Income: $95,344
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 3.7%
More on Ridgefield: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Ridgefield, WA

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Portland for 2022

Figuring out the best suburbs around Portland was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:

  • 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

Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.

FYI: 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 36 suburbs to evaluate around Portland.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 36 in each category, where 1 was the "best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Portland." We're lookin' at you, Sherwood. You can download the data here.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or 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 2022

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.

So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Portland, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.

For more Oregon reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Portland Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income
1 Sherwood, OR 19,745 $107,537
2 Lake Oswego, OR 39,476 $114,444
3 Happy Valley, OR 22,049 $124,381
4 West Linn, OR 26,764 $119,415
5 Camas, OR 24,043 $115,993
6 North Plains, OR 2,706 $95,875
7 La Center, OR 3,338 $98,633
8 Tigard, OR 54,149 $86,757
9 Oregon, OR 10,513 $86,039
10 Ridgefield, OR 8,751 $95,344
11 Scappoose, OR 7,436 $79,375
12 Beaverton, OR 98,567 $77,745
13 Dundee, OR 3,296 $81,866
14 Tualatin, OR 27,601 $92,454
15 Wilsonville, OR 24,413 $72,541
16 Battle Ground, OR 20,931 $82,096
17 Sandy, OR 11,319 $81,262
18 Milwaukie, OR 21,086 $70,037
19 Canby, OR 17,860 $74,825
20 Newberg, OR 23,676 $75,225
21 Hillsboro, OR 108,026 $85,586
22 Troutdale, OR 16,433 $81,881
23 Washougal, OR 15,927 $89,608
24 Forest Grove, OR 24,847 $69,513
25 Gladstone, OR 12,316 $69,266
26 Cornelius, OR 12,767 $72,788
27 Hubbard, OR 3,527 $77,656
28 Molalla, OR 9,224 $68,590
29 Estacada, OR 3,642 $73,398
30 Fairview, OR 9,382 $61,377
31 Vancouver, OR 182,792 $63,617
32 Woodburn, OR 26,008 $52,251
33 Gresham, OR 110,456 $58,250
34 Columbia, OR 10,369 $41,607
35 Woodland, OR 6,223 $70,287
36 St. Helens, OR 13,779 $57,234

How Is Your Town In ?

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.