Best PlacesMultnomah County, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Multnomah 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.
Multnomah County ranks 382nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $98,810, 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 crime.
The best neighborhoods in Multnomah 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 Multnomah County
The parts of Multnomah 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.
Lake Oswego
More adults hold degrees, tree cover is thicker, and local pay stretches further.
Portland & Gresham
More households have young kids, though fewer residents vote.
Troutdale, Fairview & Wood Village
Incomes run lower and health care is harder to reach.
Multnomah County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 3% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Multnomah County's strengths and weaknesses
Multnomah 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 1% of counties. Transit and walkability follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Noise and crime also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Multnomah County ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of counties
- TransitBetter than 99% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of counties
Where Multnomah County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,741 a month, better than only 1% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 2% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 11% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 19% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Multnomah County
A household needs to earn about $154,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Multnomah County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $98,810, 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 Multnomah County's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 Multnomah County
Multnomah County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Multnomah County.
Who works in Multnomah County, and how
Work in Multnomah County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Multnomah County
Multnomah County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 97% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Multnomah County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Multnomah County growing, and who is moving in?
Multnomah County has grown about 2% 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 Multnomah County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Multnomah County, month by month
Multnomah County sees roughly 113 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 Multnomah County
Portland International sits about 5 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 Multnomah County
Schools across Multnomah County average a B, better than 74% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Bonny Slope Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Riverdale Grade SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Cedar Mill Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lake Oswego Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Cedar Park Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Rosemont Ridge Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Centennial High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Lake Oswego Senior High SchoolA · 78% proficient
- Riverdale High SchoolA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Multnomah County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Multnomah 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 Multnomah County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Multnomah County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 25% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Multnomah County
Is Multnomah County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Multnomah County ranks 382nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on biking, transit, and walkability, 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 Multnomah County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $572,981. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $98,810 median income, cost of living beats 81% of counties.
Is Multnomah County safe?
Multnomah County is safer than 11% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $726 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Multnomah County?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 36. That works out to about 113 pleasant days a year, more than 70% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Multnomah County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Lake Oswego, Portland & Gresham, and Troutdale, Fairview & Wood Village. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Multnomah County good for families?
Schools beat 74% of counties, crime safety beats 11%, and childcare runs $1,741 a month.
Is Multnomah County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 76% of counties. About 25% of workers already work from home.
Compare Multnomah County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Multnomah County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Multnomah 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.
Multnomah County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Multnomah County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Multnomah County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Multnomah County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Multnomah County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Multnomah 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.