The 10 Best Suburbs In Oregon For 2024


The best suburbs in Oregon are Lake Oswego and Sherwood for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Are you sick of being a city slicker?

Do you long for life in suburban Oregon? Where you can drive an overly-large vehicle to the store for groceries and schlep the kids around to practices and appointments without worrying about a parking space.

We do, too.

If you wanted to move out to the suburbs of Salem, where would you go? And how would you decide on the ranking factors to help you pick which Oregon suburb was best?

No worries. We got it all figured out here using Saturday Night Science.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


These are the 10 best suburbs in the Beaver State

  1. Lake Oswego
  2. Sherwood
  3. West Linn
  4. Canby
  5. Milwaukie
  6. Tigard
  7. Hillsboro
  8. Beaverton
  9. Happy Valley
  10. Tualatin

Lake Oswego is the place to be when it comes to being a soccer mom in suburban Oregon.

So if you’re thinking of packing up your mini van and making a move to a quiet place to live in Oregon, we’ve got you covered.

Keep on reading for a detailed methodology. Or, check out the best places to live in Oregon and the best places to raise a family in Oregon.

Best Suburbs In Oregon For 2024

Lake Oswego, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Esprqii | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 40,457
Median Income: $127,252
Average Home Price: $880,600
More on Lake Oswego: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Lake Oswego is located 8 miles south of Portland.

Sherwood, OR

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 20,286
Median Income: $109,770
Average Home Price: $628,898
More on Sherwood: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Sherwood is located 15 miles west of Portland.

West Linn, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Tesint at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 27,167
Median Income: $134,116
Average Home Price: $759,031
More on West Linn: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

West Linn is located 11 miles south of Portland.

Canby, OR

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 18,127
Median Income: $91,823
Average Home Price: $566,045
More on Canby: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Canby is located 18 miles south of Portland.

Milwaukie, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Finetooth | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 21,195
Median Income: $78,676
Average Home Price: $502,721
More on Milwaukie: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Milwaukie is located 6 miles south of Portland.

Tigard, OR

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 55,161
Median Income: $101,354
Average Home Price: $601,645
More on Tigard: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Tigard is located 9 miles west of Portland.

Hillsboro, OR

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 106,612
Median Income: $98,891
Average Home Price: $527,280
More on Hillsboro: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Hillsboro is located 13 miles west of Portland.

Beaverton, OR

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 97,554
Median Income: $88,899
Average Home Price: $534,974
More on Beaverton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Beaverton is located 8 miles west of Portland.

Happy Valley, OR

Source: Wikipedia User Esprqii | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 24,381
Median Income: $126,108
Average Home Price: $682,410
More on Happy Valley: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Happy Valley is located 9 miles east of Portland.

Tualatin, OR

Source: Wikipedia User M.O. Stevens | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 27,804
Median Income: $105,542
Average Home Price: $637,027
More on Tualatin: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Tualatin is located 12 miles south of Portland.

Methodology:How we crunched the suburb numbers for the Beaver State

We have to use Saturday Night Science and look at several metrics to give you the best suburbs in Oregon. We want to measure the type of place around major cities that people arguing at a bar would say makes it the “best suburb.”

First, we had to define a suburb. Using U.S. Census data produced for the state of Oregon, we looked at every town with at least 8,000 residents, and within 30 miles of a city that’s over 200,000 people.

In other words, suburbs.

We paid particular attention to the following criteria:

  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Population Density (Higher is Better)
  • Unemployment Rates
  • Commute Time
  • Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty Rates

We ranked each suburb in Oregon across these criteria from one to 23, with one being the best.

We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the town posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Suburb To Live In Oregon.”

The result is some of the safest, quietest, and ideal places to live in Oregon.

Read on to see why Lake Oswego is the ‘burb with the most, while Woodburn is probably not the best place to live in Oregon.

Summary: There You Have It – The Best Suburbs In Oregon

If you’re measuring the locations in Oregon where there are lots to do, and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.

The best suburbs in Oregon are Lake Oswego, Sherwood, West Linn, Canby, Milwaukie, Tigard, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Happy Valley, and Tualatin.

Here’s a look at the worst suburbs in Oregon according to the data:

  1. Woodburn
  2. Gresham
  3. Fairview

For more Oregon reading, check out:

The Best Suburbs In Oregon

Rank City Population Median Income Median Home Price
1 Lake Oswego 40,457 $127,252 $880,600
2 Sherwood 20,286 $109,770 $628,898
3 West Linn 27,167 $134,116 $759,031
4 Canby 18,127 $91,823 $566,045
5 Milwaukie 21,195 $78,676 $502,721
6 Tigard 55,161 $101,354 $601,645
7 Hillsboro 106,612 $98,891 $527,280
8 Beaverton 97,554 $88,899 $534,974
9 Happy Valley 24,381 $126,108 $682,410
10 Tualatin 27,804 $105,542 $637,027
11 Scappoose 8,003 $96,339 $474,121
12 Newberg 25,379 $87,873 $519,518
13 Gladstone 11,996 $88,043 $504,640
14 Molalla 10,147 $77,442 $478,905
15 Forest Grove 26,160 $77,977 $512,087
16 Sandy 12,592 $98,341 $500,027
17 Wilsonville 25,992 $83,210 $637,996
18 Troutdale 16,150 $86,307 $469,436
19 Cornelius 13,245 $83,051 $471,048
20 St. Helens 14,015 $77,475 $407,724
21 Fairview 10,515 $78,407 $456,132
22 Gresham 113,525 $69,437 $451,470
23 Woodburn 26,222 $58,916 $403,723
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.