5 Things You Didn’t Know About Beaverton, Oregon

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A known city in its own right, Beaverton is nestled between the Tualatin Valley farmlands and the West Hills and one of Portland’s fastest-growing, thriving suburbs. With a population of 97,494 (as of 2023), up from 89,803 in 2010, it’s easy to see why so many people are making Beaverton home. The city’s 16 square mile land mass, Washington County’s second-largest city, is only seven miles west of Portland and boasts over 100 parks, restaurants, shops, wineries, historic landmarks, and highly recognized corporations.

In 2021, we deemed Beaverton the top Portland suburb. The suburb regularly gets listed on various best places to live in Oregon lists. We thought we’d look closer to see what makes Beaverton such a unique city. Here’s what we found.

Beaverton, Oregon, Wants to Make the World a Better Place

In 2020, the City of Beaverton proposed the Downtown Equity Strategy initiative to redevelop the city’s downtown area in the interest of racial equity. Stating that Beaverton’s downtown belongs to all residents, public investments and updates will be made to create a space that is “interesting, inviting, and accessible to people of all backgrounds, centering Black, Indigenous and people of color; and in doing so, prevent, minimize, and mitigate involuntary residential and business displacement.” This initiative is a move in the right direction, as Beaverton’s degree of diversity is changing in its schools and in its workforce.

This isn’t the only way Beaverton is working to progress and grow. In 2019 the City adopted the Climate Action Plan with the goal to fight climate change by becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and reducing Beaverton’s greenhouse gas emission to zero by 2050. This plan is a reaction to the city’s eco-friendly mentality, reflected in its 133 bike paths, and encouraging residents to make cycling a way of life through events like Bike Beaverton. Deemed a “Green Power Community” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2007 and maintaining the designation to now, Beaverton is not only conscious of its kilowatt-hours usage, but its local businesses, including housing developers, are also mindful of the impact of our presence on the earth.

Even Though It’s Name has Changed, Beaverton has Always Been a Beaver Town

The Atfalati tribe were the first residents of the Tualatin Valley and Beaverton area. They were a hunter-gatherer group that got their sustenance more from plants than animals, including food, clothes, housing, and more. They occupied a village on the Fanno and Beaverton creeks called Chakeipi, which meant “place of the beaver.” Early settlers, however, called the village Beaverdam due to the plethora of dams they saw in the area’s bodies of water. Later, the city was named Beaverton.

Beavertonians Have an Excellent Quality of Life

Beaverton is brimming with features that make it a desirable place to live. In addition to the above-mentioned equity initiative and climate action plan, the city is full of features that lend to a high quality of life.

As mentioned, Beaverton has over 100 parks within its boundaries. This translates to an abundance of options for outdoor enthusiasts. The Willow Creek Greenway is a 17-acre natural area with a paved trail and a boardwalk running alongside Willow Creek. Moshofsky Woods Natural Area is in the same general area and is a prime spot for birding and wildlife watching. Learn more about all of Beaverton’s parks, trails, and natural areas.

Beaverton loves the arts, and the Patricia Reser Arts Center for the Arts is a testament to this fact. Opening its doors in 2022, The Reser seeks to honor the cultures and customs of the city’s diverse community and creates an environment for connection and understanding between people through the power of the arts.

Like many Oregon cities, Beaverton has its own farmers market. Since 1988, the market has offered residents and visitors high-quality local produce, plants, honey, and more. The market is also a gathering place where people come to enjoy prepared foods and connect while listening to local musical acts and art viewings.

Beaverton has a happening foodie scene, nestled in Tualatin wine country. The 2018 increase of drinking and eating establishments in the city in 2018—which included familiar names like Afuri Izakaya, Top Burmese, Whole Bowl, and Ex Novo Brewing—has held steady but pales compared with what’s to come. Apparently, the city is about the undergo a boom in the restaurant/bar arena. New eateries have sprung up from Old Town to Cedar Hills Crossing on the tail of the Reser Arts Center’s grand opening. Others are slated to open in the near future. From Korean food, sushi, and Indian fusion to a boba shop, a beer bar, and a microbrewery, to name a few, Beaverton residents will have the privilege of a multitude of growing gastronomical options that mirror Portland’s foodie scene. If you’re in the mood for a quiet tour through the area’s abundant wine country, keep Cooper Mountain Vineyards and Hamacher Wines in mind. Both are within the Beaverton zip code, with several other wineries in nearby surrounding towns.

Lastly, Beaverton has plenty of fun, unique events. The city hosts a few specially-themed walks annually, like the bubble tea, wine, and beer walks in Old Town for tasty samplings and camaraderie. Beaverton Night Market features authentic international foods and arts in a variety of forms, including musical acts, to celebrate the growing diversity of the community. In early fall, Beaverton Restaurant Week is a great way to check out all the downtown eateries with foods made specifically for the event. Pride Beaverton is an annual event created to acknowledge, support, and give joy to the city’s LGBTQIA+ community, complete with a parade and entertainment. Other events include the Mayor’s Ball, Beaverton Arts Mix! Show & Sale, the Beaverton Half Marathon, and Welcoming Week.

Learn more about Downtown Beaverton events.

Beaverton has Plenty of Job Opportunities

Considering the fact that Beaverton is located in Oregon’s Silicon Forest, with coveted high-tech employers including Tektronix, Maxim, VTech, Merix, and IBM, as well as Columbia Sportswear and Nike, the largest company in Oregon, the job market here is thriving and strong.

According to the State of Oregon’s Economic and Revenue Forecast, the 2021 national economic growth was the highest it’s been since the early 1980s. The report also states that Oregon’s wages and salaries are at an all-time high.

Beaverton Is Rich in History

The first acquired land claim in Beaverton went to Lawrence Hall in 1847. He and his brother built the first grist mill in the area, with many soon to follow, providing support for Oregon’s early agriculture communities. The other early influential industry at the time was logging and wood products, with the first sawmill established in the Beaverton area by Thomas Hicklin Denney and his wife Berrilla in 1849. In 1850, the Portland-Tualatin Valley Plank Road Company set out to build plank roads along Canyon Road between Portland and Hillsboro to accommodate the transportation of agricultural and wood products. Despite financial problems, the construction of the road made it as far as Beaverton by 1860.

Motion pictures came to Beaverton in 1920 with the construction of Premium Picture Productions near Erickson Street. The company employed local residents but went bankrupt in 1925 after making about 15 movies. When the studio closed, the site became an aircraft hangar factory, and Watts Airport was built, and for a time, Beaverton was known as a location for home-built airplanes.

One of Beaverton’s long-time companies is Beaverton Foods, owned and operated by the Biggi family and started by Rose Biggi in 1929. They make gourmet condiments and ship across the globe.

Read more about Beaverton’s beginnings.

Bonus Facts about Beaverton

  • Beaverton was the first city in Oregon to have an ice rink dedicated to Curling, earning this distinction in 2013 with the Evergreen Curling Club.
  • The Beaverton Murray Hill Little League baseball team was the first Little League team in the area in 48 years to make it to the Little League World Series. While they didn’t win their 2006 debut, they still made history by making it as far as they did. 
  • Beaverton has an established sistership with six international cities: Gotenba, Japan; Hsinchu, Taiwan; Cheonan, South Korea; Birobidzhan, Russia; Trossingen, Germany; and Cluses, France. 
  • Beaverton has an ongoing transit improvement project that seeks to help make the city a hub of activity. While the project has hit some roadblocks over the course of its development, it is still ongoing, and the resulting transit overhaul should benefit all Beaverton residents with easier transportation. 

Beaverton Real Estate Options are Growing

Read our latest in-depth Beaverton real estate market update with a 2024 forecast here.

As a response to Beaverton’s growing population, the South Cooper Mountain Community Plan was proposed in 2018. The entire Cooper Mountain area is comprised of a 1,242-acre urban reserve area sandwiched between a 510-acre area to the north and a 544-acre area to the south, the latter of which was annexed into the city in 2012 and is slated for residential development. Learn more about the Cooper Mountain Project.

Beaverton’s housing market prices are comparable to Portland, with housing prices hovering at a median of $565,000 in 2023. On average, Beaverton homes stay on the market for 43 days, a stat that’s stayed consistent for at least two years. Beaverton remains a popular place for people to move to, with newcomers making their way to the town from as far-flung as Austin, Texas, though the majority of residents came from Seattle, Washington.

Beaverton offers the job prospects of Portland on a smaller, more personal scale, drawing in people from all over the country. Currently their housing marketing is more competitive than Portland’s, given their quality of life, culture, and business opportunities. For people looking to be close to nature without sacrificing creature comforts or struggling to find a nearby job, Beaverton can be a great option. 

If you’re in the market for a home that’s close to the action, without the overwhelming city atmosphere of the Portland housing market, Beaverton is a great place to settle down. Not only can you take advantage of all the wonderful boons we’ve discussed so far, but you can also invest in a home close to a hundred parks, giving you ample opportunity to explore all of Beaverton. Whether you’re a nature lover, or are looking to take advantage of the urban aspects of Beaverton, there’s plenty of reason to move to this incredible city.

Ready to Make Your Move to Beaverton?

If Beaverton sounds like a place you’d love to live or if you want to relocate within Beaverton, get in touch with our top 1% buyer’s agents or our top 1% seller’s agents. We’ve been helping people buy and sell homes in the Portland metro area for almost 20 years, and we’d love to help you find your next home. Chat with the bot on our site or give us a call today. We can wait to show you what Beaverton has to offer!

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