Don’t let Oregon’s carefree, hippie vibe confuse you, the state has many places that are only for The Beaver State’s rich and famous.
Folks, Oregon’s wealthy did not get this way by sitting on their back sides. And since HomeSnacks thinks that people who work hard deserve to play hard and live it up in some of the wealthiest places a state has to offer, we created a list of the top ten richest places in Oregon for 2023. You know, a list of the places that cater to the one percent.
How did we determine the richest places in this Pacific Northwest paradise? We looked at the latest Census data from the American Community Survey for 77 Oregon cities with 5,000 residents. We then looked at a places median income, unemployment rate, and poverty rate and assigned each a score.
When you choose to live in one of Oregon’s richest places, you are choosing to live where it’s going to be a little more expensive. The upside, however, these places have strong economies, posh neighborhoods and homes, blue ribbon schools, and five star amenities. There’s a reason many of Oregon’s richest places are also the the state’s best. And those amenities we mentioned — well, when all of that cash starts to burn a hole in your pocket, there are coastal five star resorts like Gurney’s in Newport and great ski vacations to Mt. Bachelor in Bend ready to lighten your load.
So want to know where Oregon’s ‘other half’ lives? Keep reading.
Here are the 10 richest places in Oregon for 2023:
Did we mention that crime is virtually nonexistent in Oregon’s richest places? That’s right, many of Oregon’s richest are also the state’s safest. And, folks, Oregon’s number one richest does not disappoint in the safety area either.
But, what is Oregon’s number one richest place for 2023? According to the data, that would be, Happy Valley.
Want to know where the rest of Oregon’s ‘Richie Rich’ live, take a look below. And if you don’t find what you’re looking for there, the rest are just a click away.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Oregon:
The 10 Richest Cities In Oregon For 2023
1. Happy Valley
/10
Population: 23,442
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $131,980
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on Happy Valley: Real Estate | Photos
2. Scappoose
/10
Population: 7,871
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $86,528
Unemployment Rate: 1.9%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on Scappoose: Real Estate | Photos
3. Sherwood
/10
Population: 20,281
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $104,651
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 4.3%
More on Sherwood: Real Estate | Photos
4. Creswell
/10
Population: 5,625
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $78,974
Unemployment Rate: 1.6%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on Creswell: Real Estate | Photos
5. West Linn
/10
Population: 27,173
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 8)
Median Income: $124,098
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 4.7%
More on West Linn: Real Estate | Photos
6. Troutdale
/10
Population: 16,353
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Income: $85,131
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 7.9%
More on Troutdale: Real Estate | Photos
7. Lake Oswego
/10
Population: 40,390
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 3)
Median Income: $120,585
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on Lake Oswego: Real Estate | Photos
8. Canby
/10
Population: 18,078
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 4)
Median Income: $83,948
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 9.2%
More on Canby: Real Estate | Photos
9. Sandy
/10
Population: 12,383
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 3)
Median Income: $88,775
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 7.7%
More on Sandy: Real Estate | Photos
10. Philomath
/10
Population: 5,353
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $70,806
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on Philomath: Real Estate | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In Oregon For 2023
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places”. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2017-2021 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 77 places with more than 5,000 people in Oregon, we ranked each place from 1 to 77 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Happy Valley, crowned the “Richest City In Oregon For 2023”. You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 77 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In Oregon For 2023
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Oregon, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Oregon.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Oregon, according to data:
Poorest: Madras
2nd Poorest: Klamath Falls
3rd Poorest: Ontario
For more Oregon reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Oregon
Rank | City | RichScore |
---|---|---|
1 | Happy Valley | 2.0 |
2 | Scappoose | 4.33 |
3 | Sherwood | 4.67 |
4 | Creswell | 8.0 |
5 | West Linn | 11.0 |
6 | Troutdale | 12.0 |
7 | Lake Oswego | 13.33 |
8 | Canby | 13.33 |
9 | Sandy | 13.67 |
10 | Philomath | 14.67 |
11 | Warrenton | 15.0 |
12 | Newberg | 15.67 |
13 | Tigard | 16.33 |
14 | Oregon City | 16.33 |
15 | Hillsboro | 17.67 |
16 | Hood River | 19.67 |
17 | Beaverton | 20.0 |
18 | Tualatin | 20.33 |
19 | Bend | 23.0 |
20 | Forest Grove | 24.0 |
21 | Cornelius | 24.67 |
22 | Fairview | 25.67 |
23 | Milwaukie | 26.0 |
24 | Molalla | 28.0 |
25 | Central Point | 28.33 |
26 | Independence | 29.0 |
27 | Wilsonville | 29.33 |
28 | Veneta | 29.67 |
29 | Keizer | 30.33 |
30 | Stayton | 32.0 |
31 | Redmond | 33.67 |
32 | Portland | 34.67 |
33 | Astoria | 36.67 |
34 | Silverton | 38.0 |
35 | St. Helens | 39.33 |
36 | Brookings | 40.0 |
37 | Mcminnville | 40.0 |
38 | Eagle Point | 40.33 |
39 | Gladstone | 41.0 |
40 | Winston | 42.0 |
41 | Lincoln City | 42.67 |
42 | Ashland | 43.0 |
43 | Junction City | 44.33 |
44 | Albany | 45.0 |
45 | Sutherlin | 45.33 |
46 | Hermiston | 45.33 |
47 | The Dalles | 46.0 |
48 | Woodburn | 47.33 |
49 | Dallas | 47.33 |
50 | Medford | 47.33 |
51 | Florence | 48.67 |
52 | Salem | 48.67 |
53 | Gresham | 49.0 |
54 | Monmouth | 49.67 |
55 | Seaside | 50.0 |
56 | Milton-Freewater | 50.67 |
57 | Newport | 52.33 |
58 | Tillamook | 53.0 |
59 | Talent | 53.0 |
60 | Roseburg | 53.67 |
61 | Pendleton | 55.33 |
62 | Grants Pass | 55.67 |
63 | Springfield | 56.67 |
64 | Prineville | 57.33 |
65 | North Bend | 60.67 |
66 | Baker City | 61.0 |
67 | Corvallis | 61.33 |
68 | Eugene | 61.67 |
69 | Lebanon | 63.0 |
70 | Coos Bay | 63.33 |
71 | Umatilla | 64.67 |
72 | Cottage Grove | 65.67 |
73 | Sweet Home | 69.0 |
74 | La Grande | 71.67 |
75 | Ontario | 72.0 |
76 | Klamath Falls | 73.67 |
77 | Madras | 74.33 |