Best PlacesSellwood-Moreland, Portland, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Sellwood-Moreland, 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.
Sellwood-Moreland, Portland ranks 1,293rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Sellwood-Moreland, 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.
Sellwood-Moreland, Portland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sellwood-Moreland, Portland ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Sellwood-Moreland, Portland ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,738 a month, better than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 28% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 38% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Sellwood-Moreland, Portland
A household needs to earn about $183,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sellwood-Moreland, Portland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $95,920, 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 Sellwood-Moreland, Portland'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 Sellwood-Moreland, Portland
Sellwood-Moreland, Portland'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 Sellwood-Moreland, Portland.
Who works in Sellwood-Moreland, Portland, and how
Work in Sellwood-Moreland, Portland centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 55%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Sellwood-Moreland, Portland
Sellwood-Moreland, Portland has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 80% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Sellwood-Moreland, Portland and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Sellwood-Moreland, Portland, month by month
Sellwood-Moreland, Portland sees roughly 117 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 Sellwood-Moreland, Portland
Portland International sits about 9 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 Sellwood-Moreland, Portland
Schools across Sellwood-Moreland, Portland average a B+, better than 76% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Trillium Creek Primary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Stafford Primary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Milwaukie El Puente Elementary SchoolD+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rosemont Ridge Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Athey Creek Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Rowe Middle SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- New Urban High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sellwood-Moreland, Portland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sellwood-Moreland, 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 Sellwood-Moreland, Portland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Sellwood-Moreland, Portland
Is Sellwood-Moreland, Portland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sellwood-Moreland, Portland ranks 1,293rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on clean air, biking, and state infrastructure, and lowest on internet speeds and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sellwood-Moreland, Portland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $682,098. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $95,920 median income, cost of living beats 64% of neighborhoods.
Is Sellwood-Moreland, Portland safe?
Sellwood-Moreland, Portland is safer than 54% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $559 per resident a year.
Compare Sellwood-Moreland, Portland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sellwood-Moreland, Portland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sellwood-Moreland, 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.
Sellwood-Moreland, Portland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sellwood-Moreland, Portland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sellwood-Moreland, Portland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sellwood-Moreland, Portland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sellwood-Moreland, Portland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sellwood-Moreland, 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.