Best PlacesWest Linn, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Linn, 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.
West Linn ranks 170th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Linn
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 West Linn
The parts of West Linn, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first.
Hidden Springs & Robinwood
Parker Crest
Sunset & Bolton
Willamette-West Linn & Stafford-Tualatin Valley
Scores across West Linn run from about the 79th to the 98th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
West Linn's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Linn ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of cities
- Household income$157,008 median, better than 93% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of cities
Where West Linn ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,525 a month, better than only 12% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 18% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 20% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 27% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 30% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in West Linn
A household needs to earn about $225,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Linn home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $157,008, 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 West Linn's effective rate of 1.09%, 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 West Linn
West Linn runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Linn.
Who works in West Linn, and how
Work in West Linn 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 64%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in West Linn
West Linn has more parkland per resident than 93% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of West Linn and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Linn, month by month
West Linn sees roughly 109 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 West Linn
Portland International sits about 16 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 West Linn
Schools across West Linn average a B+, better than 71% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Westridge Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Hallinan Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Cedaroak Park Primary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Three Rivers Charter SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Lakeridge Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Rosemont Ridge Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Canby High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Wilsonville High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Oregon City Senior High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Linn school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Linn 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 West Linn against the other 2,097 cities.
Who West Linn suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of cities and 32% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 65% of cities and health care access beats 77%.
Common questions about living in West Linn
Is West Linn a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Linn ranks 170th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on clean air, civic engagement, and tree cover, 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 West Linn expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $827,654. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $157,008 median income, cost of living beats 91% of cities.
Is West Linn safe?
Yes, West Linn is safer than 79% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $308 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Linn?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 35. That works out to about 109 pleasant days a year, more than 65% of cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in West Linn?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Hidden Springs & Robinwood, Parker Crest, and Sunset & Bolton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare West Linn with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Linn. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Linn 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.
West Linn detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Linn: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Linn: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Linn: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Linn: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Linn 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.