Best PlacesSouthgate, Portland, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Southgate, 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.
Southgate, Portland ranks 4,246th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Southgate, 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.
Southgate, Portland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Southgate, Portland ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 70% of neighborhoods
Where Southgate, Portland ranks low
- School gradeD, better than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,525 a month, better than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Southgate, Portland
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Southgate, Portland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $66,249, 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 Southgate, Portland's effective rate of 0.83%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Southgate, Portland
Southgate, 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 Southgate, Portland.
Who works in Southgate, Portland, and how
Work in Southgate, Portland centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Southgate, Portland
Southgate, Portland has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 79% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Southgate, Portland and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Southgate, Portland, month by month
Southgate, 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 Southgate, Portland
Portland International sits about 10 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 Southgate, Portland
Schools across Southgate, Portland average a D, better than 15% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Milwaukie El Puente Elementary SchoolD+ · 21% proficient
- Whitcomb Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- 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 Southgate, Portland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Southgate, 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 Southgate, Portland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Southgate, Portland
Is Southgate, Portland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Southgate, Portland ranks 4,246th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on clean air, state infrastructure, and cell coverage, and lowest on the schools and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Southgate, Portland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $365,548. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $66,249 median income, cost of living beats 27% of neighborhoods.
Is Southgate, Portland safe?
Southgate, Portland is safer than 39% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $761 per resident a year.
Compare Southgate, Portland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Southgate, Portland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Southgate, 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.
Southgate, Portland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Southgate, Portland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Southgate, Portland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Southgate, Portland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Southgate, Portland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Southgate, 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.