Best PlacesLake Forest, Lake Oswego, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lake Forest, Lake Oswego, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lake Forest, Lake Oswego ranks 550th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Lake Forest, Lake Oswego
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.
Lake Forest, Lake Oswego's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lake Forest, Lake Oswego ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
Where Lake Forest, Lake Oswego ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,525 a month, better than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 32% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Lake Forest, Lake Oswego
A household needs to earn about $208,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lake Forest, Lake Oswego home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $149,116, 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 Lake Forest, Lake Oswego's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 Lake Forest, Lake Oswego
Lake Forest, Lake Oswego's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lake Forest, Lake Oswego.
Who works in Lake Forest, Lake Oswego, and how
Work in Lake Forest, Lake Oswego centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Lake Forest, Lake Oswego
Lake Forest, Lake Oswego has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lake Forest, Lake Oswego and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lake Forest, Lake Oswego, month by month
Lake Forest, Lake Oswego sees roughly 111 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 Lake Forest, Lake Oswego
Portland International sits about 14 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 Lake Forest, Lake Oswego
Schools across Lake Forest, Lake Oswego average an A, better than 95% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- River Grove Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Lake Grove Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lake Oswego Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Lakeridge Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Lake Oswego Senior High SchoolA · 78% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lake Forest, Lake Oswego school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lake Forest, Lake Oswego 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 Lake Forest, Lake Oswego against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Lake Forest, Lake Oswego
Is Lake Forest, Lake Oswego a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lake Forest, Lake Oswego ranks 550th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on tree cover, clean air, and good schools, and lowest on childcare costs and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lake Forest, Lake Oswego expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $795,920. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $149,116 median income, cost of living beats 91% of neighborhoods.
Is Lake Forest, Lake Oswego safe?
Yes, Lake Forest, Lake Oswego is safer than 63% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $526 per resident a year.
Compare Lake Forest, Lake Oswego with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lake Forest, Lake Oswego. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lake Forest, Lake Oswego 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.
Lake Forest, Lake Oswego detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lake Forest, Lake Oswego: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lake Forest, Lake Oswego: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lake Forest, Lake Oswego: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lake Forest, Lake Oswego: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lake Forest, Lake Oswego 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.
- 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.