Best PlacesMount Scott, Portland, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Mount Scott, Portland, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Mount Scott, Portland ranks 1,322nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Mount Scott, Portland
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.
Mount Scott, Portland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mount Scott, Portland ranks high
- BikingBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
Where Mount Scott, Portland ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,741 a month, better than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Short commute29.7 minutes each way, better than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 35% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Mount Scott, Portland
A household needs to earn about $135,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mount Scott, Portland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $107,232, 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 Mount Scott, Portland's effective rate of 0.89%, 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 Mount Scott, Portland
Mount Scott, Portland runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Mount Scott, Portland.
Who works in Mount Scott, Portland, and how
Work in Mount Scott, Portland centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 57%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Mount Scott, Portland
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Mount Scott, Portland.
What the weather is like in Mount Scott, Portland, month by month
Mount Scott, Portland sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 42° | 36° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 43° |
| July | 86° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Mount Scott, Portland
Portland International sits about 7 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 9.1 million passengers in 2025, with 117 nonstop destinations.
Mount Scott, Portland 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 Mount Scott, Portland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Mount Scott, Portland
Is Mount Scott, Portland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mount Scott, Portland ranks 1,322nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, clean air, and state infrastructure, and lowest on childcare costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mount Scott, Portland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $511,981. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $107,232 median income, cost of living beats 71% of neighborhoods.
Is Mount Scott, Portland safe?
Mount Scott, Portland is safer than 38% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $702 per resident a year.
Compare Mount Scott, Portland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mount Scott, Portland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mount Scott, Portland 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.
Mount Scott, Portland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mount Scott, Portland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mount Scott, Portland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mount Scott, Portland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mount Scott, Portland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mount Scott, Portland 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.