Best PlacesClackamas County, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Clackamas County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Clackamas County ranks 205th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $111,897, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, noise, and disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in Clackamas County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Clackamas County
The parts of Clackamas County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
West Linn
Local pay stretches further, more adults hold degrees, and incomes run higher.
Lake Oswego & Oak Grove
Tree cover is thicker and biking is better.
Damascus & Boring
Crime runs lower and advertised internet is faster.
Wilsonville & Canby
Schools score higher and fewer homes sit empty.
Sandy & Eagle Creek
It is quieter, though transit reaches fewer jobs.
Molalla
Scores close to Sandy & Eagle Creek, except that more households have young kids here.
Oregon City & Gladstone
Scores close to Molalla, except that streets are more walkable here.
Happy Valley, Milwaukie & Clackamas
Fewer residents vote.
Estacada & Beavercreek
Commutes are longer and health outcomes score lower.
Clackamas County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 14% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Clackamas County's strengths and weaknesses
Clackamas County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Biking is the standout, in the top 3% of counties. State infrastructure and transit follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Noise and disaster risk also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Clackamas County ranks high
- BikingBetter than 97% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of counties
- TransitBetter than 96% of counties
- Household income$111,897 median, better than 96% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of counties
Where Clackamas County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,525 a month, better than only 2% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 22% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 23% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 28% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 29% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Clackamas County
A household needs to earn about $168,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clackamas County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $111,897, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Clackamas County's effective rate of 0.85%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Clackamas County
Clackamas County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Clackamas County.
Who works in Clackamas County, and how
Work in Clackamas County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Clackamas County
Clackamas County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 86% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Clackamas County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Clackamas County growing, and who is moving in?
Clackamas County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Portland, OR metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Clackamas County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Clackamas County, month by month
Clackamas County sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 42° | 35° |
| April | 65° | 52° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 70° | 55° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Clackamas County
Portland International sits about 16 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 9.1 million passengers in 2025, with 117 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Clackamas County
Schools across Clackamas County average a C+, better than 53% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- River Grove Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Forest Hills Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Riverdale Grade SchoolA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Three Rivers Charter SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Lake Oswego Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Lakeridge Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Centennial High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Sherwood High SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Lake Oswego Senior High SchoolA · 78% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clackamas County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Clackamas County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Clackamas County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Clackamas County suits
Families
Schools land around the 53rd percentile and crime safety beats 82%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 21% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Clackamas County
Is Clackamas County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clackamas County ranks 205th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on biking, state infrastructure, and transit, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Clackamas County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $638,481. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $111,897 median income, cost of living beats 90% of counties.
Is Clackamas County safe?
Yes, Clackamas County is safer than 82% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $352 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Clackamas County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 35. That works out to about 109 pleasant days a year, more than 67% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Clackamas County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are West Linn, Lake Oswego & Oak Grove, and Damascus & Boring. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Clackamas County good for families?
Schools beat 53% of counties, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $1,525 a month.
Is Clackamas County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 76% of counties. About 21% of workers already work from home.
Compare Clackamas County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clackamas County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clackamas County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Clackamas County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Clackamas County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Clackamas County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Clackamas County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Clackamas County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Clackamas County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.